Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure
by DariaAlpha
Summary: Kate, Humphrey, and their three pups are preparing for their first winter together when the smallest pup, Runt, disappears. They must go on a journey across the wilderness to find and bring back Runt before the winter snows block their way home. This is an (unofficial) novelization of A&O2 since there isn't an official one. Please leave reviews. Not sure if this should be K or T.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Whoa!" the young male wolf pup said with awe. "Dad and Mom were able to log board this?" This was Stinky and he was at the top of a hill with his older sister, Claudette, and his little brother, Runt. "I don't know if that's even appropriate for an Alpha."

Alphas, such as Claudette and Stinky, were the highest-ranking members of a wolf pack, and, therefore, were expected to be the most responsible members of a wolf pack. They normally didn't have time for fun like the Omegas, the lowest ranking members of a wolf pack, did because they had to worry about responsibilities such as guarding their territory's border, hunting, and protecting the Alpha male and his mate. The Betas were no different even if they were the middle ranking wolves in the pack. But, even more than the Alphas, they were expected to assist the pack leaders wherever needed, especially in the case of hunting.

Claudette, the oldest, stared at her brother with a smile on her orangish-colored face. "I think it would be killer, Stinky," she said, "and I'm an Alpha."

"And remember—" Runt, the youngest, and the only Omega of the littler, said. "Dad is a proud Omega, as am I." They were the three puppies of Kate, an Alpha, and Humphrey, an Omega, the first Alpha and Omega couple in the history of the now united Eastern and Western Pack, known as, simply, "The United Pack." The second in the history of their pack was the couple made up by Lilly, an Omega and Kate's little sister, and Garth, a former Eastern Pack Alpha.

Kate and Lilly's father, Winston, and mother, Eve, had been the pack leaders before they had retired with Tony, the former Eastern Alpha male, a widower, and the father of Garth, the only survivor of his father's litter.

"Well," Stinky said in his usual overconfident tone, "as future leader of the pack…I wouldn't allow Alphas to be doing things like this."

Although Claudette was the oldest of Kate and Humphrey's first litter of puppies, Stinky was the oldest son, so that meant he was next in line to be the Alpha male of the pack. But now, since it was winter, and therefore, mating season, Kate, being the Alpha female, had taken over as the pack leader. During the mating season, the Alpha female always took over as the pack leader, having more authority than the Alpha male, even. But it did seem that, even when that wasn't the case, Kate was the more dominant of the two. She seemed to make more of the decisions than Humphrey ever had since they had become the pack leaders.

"Mm-hmm," Claudette said, acting as if she really believed her brother. He acted all serious now, but she doubted that he would be as serious as Kate was now or as serious as their grandfather Winston had been. He seemed to have taken more after their less serious father, Humphrey, than their mother or grandparents.

"How about things like this?" Runt piped up suddenly as he ran over to a cluster of trees. "Pick a tree. Any tree," he said, rearing up so his head was near the group, and his tail was up in the air. He wagged his tail excitedly, waiting for one of them to pick a tree.

But his purpose for this was lost on both of his siblings, who just stared with confusion until Claudette spoke.

"Runt, do you need to take a whiz?" Claudette asked suddenly and unexpectedly.

"What?" Runt gasped with shock. He couldn't believe that his older sister had asked him that.

"Claudette, inappropriate," Stinky said, seemingly correcting his sister. But then he added, "This is male-to-male stuff, alright?" Stinky turned back to his little brother. "Runt, do you need to take a whiz?"

Runt gasped again. Was he really the most mature of the three? "What is wrong with you two?" he asked in an almost angry voice. "I may be the runt, but give me a break. I was born only, like, a few minutes later than you wolves."

"But you're still so cute," Claudette said in a cooing voice and tried to hug her little brother.

Now, Runt was offended. "Cute?" he gasped then proceeded to climb up the tree to his left, grunting as he climbed, just to prove that he wasn't "cute," as Claudette had called him.

"Runt, it is unsightly for a wolf to be climbing a tree," Stinky said, but was ignored. "Runt!" he cried.

"I think he's saying, 'Talk to the butt'," Claudette said in a joking voice.

As Runt climbed up the tree, he shouted down at his older siblings, "Don't forget what Mom and Dad always say. 'Our uniqueness makes us strong'." Runt stopped on a branch near the top of the tree, where a small flock of blue birds had been perched. They went airborne when he jumped onto the branch, but stuck around because they'd never seen a wolf in a tree before.

Runt stood up on his hind legs and started flapping his front legs as if they were wings. "Hey, what up?" he asked the birds.

"That is unique, all right," Stinky said sarcastically. Claudette just stared up at Runt with an excited smile on her face.

Elsewhere, Runt, Claudette, and Stinky's mother was busy preparing for her and Humphrey's first dinner with her parents, Winston and Eve.

"Okay, parents' first dinner," Kate said nervously as she ran all about the Alpha den where she and Humphrey lived together with their three puppies. "Let's get this place in order." Kate stopped running about alone to tell her mate, Oh, Humphrey, can you move the log board to the wall?"

"This is where we fell in love," Humphrey said in a romantic voice.

"I know," Kate said, using the same tone. "Against the wall," she snapped. She didn't find it very amusing with Humphrey, a hardly serious Omega, barely moved their log board a few inches. "Completely against the wall," Kate ordered.

I don't know. I think the angle makes it a little less…" Kate did herself with a single shove, using her head, before Humphrey could even finish his sentence. "…militant."

"Oh, and I almost forgot," Kate said, less angry all of a suddenly. "Can you retrieve the buried bones?"

"Retrieve?" Humphrey asked. "As in 'dig them up'?"

"Right," she said. "Where I buried them." Then she pointed to a small mound of dirt with her nose.

"We're serving bones. Our first dinner." Humphrey couldn't believe this.

Kate was offended by his statement and gasped. "Are you criticizing my dinner choice?" she asked him in a snappy voice.

"No, no, no," Humphrey stammered, knowing how it wasn't wise to anger Kate. She could be like Eve, Kate's mother, who was known for violent threats. "Not at all. Bones have lots of roughage…"

"Humphrey, dear, just dig," Kate said impatiently, as she walked to the back of the den to clean up a bit more.

"Sheese, what am I?" Humphrey muttered. "The family pet?"

"Hey, Humphrey," he heard a voice say. "Nice digs." It was his oldest friend, Salty, a gray wolf and an Omega just like Humphrey.

"Don't get me started," Humphrey said as he dug where Kate had told him too.

"Looks like you already have," Salty said in a voice that was so deadpan it was humorous. "How's life with an Alpha?" he asked.

"Efficient."

"That is what we thought," Salty said.

"'We'?" Humphrey asked, cocking his head.

"The guys." Salty was referring to their other two best friends, Shakey and Mooch, who were also Omegas. They'd known each other since their puppy days. "We thought, 'Wouldn't it be cool to take our Omega brother to the wild berry patch'?"

"Yeah," Humphrey said dryly. "I'm not really a fan of berries."

"Fermented berries," his best friend pressed.

"I _love_ berries," Humphrey corrected himself, with an excited look in his eyes.

"Oh, hi, Salty," Kate said as she came back over to the mouth of the den, before turning to her mate. "Humphrey, did you find all the—"

But Humphrey cut her off. "Hey, Kate., got an idea here. How about a few berries to go with the dry—"

"Huh?" Kate gasped in an offended tone.

"I mean, uh…the delicious and nutritious marrow. Right, Salty?" Humphrey and Salty both howled together before he continued. "Come on, what do you say?" Humphrey sat back on his haunches, put his front legs up against his body, let his tongue hang out, and wagged his tail excitedly.

"Humphrey, you're begging." Kate sounded embarrassed.

"Sorry, instinct."

"Um, well, okay," Kate sighed, still a bit embarrassed that her mate had started begging. "It would make for a nice before-dinner snack," she added.

"In so many ways," Humphrey commented.

"And it is the holidays, after all," Kate said.

"Joy to the cave," he said in a relaxed tone.

"Okay, Humphrey." Kate loved him, but her patients could grow thin with Humphrey sometimes. Then she remembered that they needed to decorate the cave. "Oh, if you see some holly, bring that back, too."

"'Tis the season," Humphrey said as he left the den with Salty.

"And if you see the pups," Kate said harshly, "_send them home_."

"Okay. Love you, babe," Humphrey replied as the two gray wolves left the den.

"Wow, this rocks!" Runt gasped, speaking to Claudette and Stinky. "You can see Banff!" Then he looked between the trees in the forest and saw someone moving down there. A few someones. "And—hey, check it out. I see three wolves down in the valley."

"Are they of our pack?" Stinky asked, staring up at the branch Runt was perched on.

"Mm," Runt said in an unsure tone, "not that I recognize."

"Well, maybe I should go welcome them," Stinky decided despite Claudette telling him otherwise.

"What?" Claudette gasped. "Remember, Grandpa Winston said there were rogue wolves in the area."

The rogue wolves she was referring to were the ones from Banff National Park who had left the Eastern Pack when it had united with the Western Pack and pack law had changed to allow marriage between Alphas and Omegas, Betas and Omegas, and Alphas and Betas. It was a pack of all Alphas who had a strong dislike of that change and any non-Alpha wolves and any runt wolves, even if they were Alphas.

"Let me handle this," Runt shouted down at Claudette and Stinky. He turned back to the direction the wolves were coming from. "Hey!" he shouted. "Who are you guys?" The three wolves looked to each other nervously, then ran off. Two of them went to the left and the third went to the right. "Well, that was real," Runt said sarcastically yet good-naturedly.

"Wait a minute," Stinky said nervously as he sniffed. "I do believe there is a large inhabitant entering our presence."

"Like what?" Claudette asked him. "A moose?"

"No. It is—" Stinky began, but a cry from Runt cut him off.

"A grizzly!" Runt yelped. I see it right there."

"No worries," Stinky assured his little brother. "We got this." He looked to Claudette, who had just as confident of a look on her face as Stinky did.

"Let me do my thing," Claudette said as she and Stinky charged at the grizzly bear, yipping loudly. They were running all around the bear, almost effectively confusing him. "Come on, big guy," she taunted. "Show me what you got."

"Go, Sis!" Runt cheered on as he climbed back down the tree, unaware of the wolf hiding behind the three. It was the one who had run off away from the other two.

"Okay, right this way, wolf-eater," Claudette taunted, less confidently, as she and Stinky ran down the path, leading the grizzly bear away from Runt.

"Claudette, other wolves, and not of our pack," Stinky said as he and his sister found themselves trapped against several rocks, with the bear charging at them. But, luckily, just as the bear reached them, the two wolves who ran off into the forest came out of nowhere. They landed on the bear's back, snarling, biting, and clawing. And that gave Stinky the confidence to say, with the two wolves on either side of the two puppies, "As future leader of this pack, I say charge!"

And then the two adult wolves and the two puppies took off after the grizzly bear in one mass, barking and yipping. The bear fled, having had enough of being bitten and scratched by and barked at by these wolves. It wasn't worth it, the bear thought, and disappeared into the forest.

The four wolves stopped running, but the two adults didn't stop snarling because they could still see the bear. They wanted to be sure that he wouldn't come back after these puppies.

"And pick on your own size next time," Claudette taunted the grizzly before he vanished. Then she looked back at the tree, as Stinky talked to the two adults, expecting to see Runt in the tree, or coming down it. But he wasn't anywhere in the tree, on the ground, or even in site. That horrified her. "What?" she gasped, trotting over to the tree where she and Stinky had last seen him.

"I don't believe I had the pleasure of a formal introduction," Stinky was saying as Claudette looked around the area for Runt. She wasn't paying her brother any heed until she heard her name. "My name is Stinky, and that's my sister Claudette. And somewhere around here is my little brother, Runt," Stinky added, looking around for Runt.

"Runt?" the larger of the two wolves asked with a laugh. "Aren't you Winston's grandpups?"

"See?" Stinky said to Claudette proudly. They saw him in me."

"So…what?" Claudette asked the wolves, ignoring Stinky's gleaming pride. "You guys just here to hang out?"

"Yeah, yeah," the same rogue said, trying not to stammer. "We're-We're just passing through."

"What pack are you from?" Stinky asked them.

"We're from Banff," he answered again. "Just lost our way."

"Yeah. Uh," the second, smaller wolf said, "we'd better get over the train tracks before nightfall." And then they took off together, the third wolf rejoining them just before they went out of site.

Claudette and Stinky didn't realize it, but these wolves were rogue wolves from Banff. The ones they'd heard about from their grandfather Winston. And they didn't realize, either, that the third was carrying something small and gray in his jaws—

—it was their little brother Runt, whimpering and shaking around as the rogues ran back to Banff with the captured pup.

* * *

**Author's note:** This is something I talked about with a friend on Skype. Our conversation had been about how there's a novelization of the original _Alpha and Omega_, but not _Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure_. So I'm gonna do an unofficial one since it's never gonna happen. (I won't do one of these for _Alpha and Omega 3: The Great Wolf Games_. It wasn't a horrible movie, yet I don't like it enough to watch it a second time. You can read my version of A&O3 if you want one or ask someone else to do it.)

Only nine chapters of this short story will use lifted events and dialogue from the movie. I will add in my own ideas to make this longer than just chapters, basing them on events from my version of _Alpha and Omega 3: The Great Wolf Games_. This will be Rated T later in the story due to my own ideas that will be added in. I can do more with a T rating than a K+ rating; that is my reason for doing it.

As for people who have been reading my story _Desert of the Dead_, I'm taking a break from that so I can get my motivation for writing horror back. I'll probably finish it after this unofficial novelization of _Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure_ is complete.


	2. Where's Runt?

**Chapter 1:**

**Where's Runt?**

Humphrey and Salty returned to the Alpha den laughing, with necklaces of holly, from Reba and Janice, two vegetarian Omega wolves, and best friends, and holding bushels of fermented berries in their jaws by the stems.

"Yeah!" Humphrey exclaimed. "Oh, that was fun. Berries are awesome. Oh, back to the grind." They both gasped when they saw Kate at the back of the den, with a less than amused expression on her face, and tapping her right hind paw at a moderate speed. She seemed upset, especially with Humphrey.

Salty gulped. "Uh, I think I'll just drop these off and go now," he said nervously, as he dropped his bushel of fermented berries, and then left so he wouldn't be a target of Kate's anger like his friend would be.

_Some best friend, _Humphrey thought, but then that thought was replaced with nervousness when Kate approached him. "Hi, Kate!" he said with a shaking voice. He attempted flattery to calm her. "Oh, look at you!" He even meowed as someone did when he was flirting. "All glammed up for Mom and Dad, huh?"

"That was an awfully long trip to the berry patch," Kate said slowly and a bit angrily. She didn't like when Humphrey took too long to do something, especially when it had to do with something as important as their first dinner with her parents, Winston and Eve.

"Yeah, but look at all the holly I brought back with me," Humphrey said in an attempt to calm Kate, but it didn't seem to work since he'd only brought one necklace of it back. "Deck the cave," he added.

Kate got closer to him, and could tell Humphrey expected a kiss from her, but she didn't give it to him, and just took the holly from him with her jaws. She turned around and walked away from her somewhat disappointed mate, and muttered, because of the holly in her jaws, "Did you see the pups?"

"Uh, no," he stammered, "I didn't."

* * *

Claudette and Stinky were still at the tree where they had last seen Runt at, even though the three rogue wolves had left already, sniffing around to get an idea of where he could've gone.

Stinky was going all around the tree, sniffing every inch of where he went until Claudette called him back to the front of the three.

"Paw prints," Claudette told Stinky as soon as he came back. "Right by the trunk. I think Runt was jumped. He probably rushed down to help and—"

Claudette stopped when she heard and saw her brother sniffing the paw prints. "Another wolf was here," he said.

* * *

"Yoo-hoo!" Kate and Humphrey heard a female voice call. "We're here!" And then Eve, Kate's mother, came into the Alpha den with a smile on her face. That was rare for Eve, a usually aggressive she-wolf.

"Great," Kate muttered, referring to what Humphrey had just told her about their pups. "Hi, Mom!" she said in a happier voice as she and Humphrey approached Eve.

"Look at that view outside," Eve said, leading the three out of the Alpha den just as Winston and Tony appeared up the hill. They were talking about something serious.

"We should gather up the Alphas and hunt those rogue wolves down," Winston was saying to Tony.

"Let's give 'em the old lockjaw," Tony replied.

"As usual, they're talking about war," Eve said bitterly, rolling her eyes as the two small groups met.

"Hello, Kate. Hello, Humphrey," Tony said to his daughter-in-law and son-in-law.

"Welcome to our little home," Kate replied to greet them her father and father-in-law.

"Hey, Dad, put a paw up," Humphrey said to Winston, but didn't get the action he wanted. Winston didn't raise a paw.

What Winston said next told Humphrey why he didn't. "The rogue leader wanted to be king and couldn't. Now he has formed an all-Alpha pack."

"I'll show 'em all-Alpha," Tony growled.

Kate didn't want her father and father-in-law to be talking about a possible war when she wanted today to be a peaceful day. It was only a few days away from Christmas. "Uh, berries, anyone?" she asked, smiling widely.

Eve agreed and said, excitedly, "Fab!" And then she was the first of the wolves to go back in the Alpha den, followed by Kate and Humphrey, and lastly Winston and Tony.

"Is Garth coming?" Tony asked when he stopped not far from the mouth of the Alpha den. "I need him to see life in a cave. He and Lilly have been living in the tall grass."

"They're just free spirits," Humphrey said good-naturedly.

Eve turned her head away from the pile of fermented berries that had been placed on a rock by Kate. She had a blue stain on her lips, which she licked away with her tongue, and seemed much happier than she usually did. Even happier than when she'd arrived. "You know the younger generation—organic this, natural that," she said in a mocking voice, referring to the vegetarians Reba and Janice in particular." Then she hiccupped due to having already eaten too many of the fermented berries. "Gosh, these are good," she commented in a drunken yet cheerful voice.

"Hey, easy with those, honey," Winston cautioned. Normally, his aggressive yet loving mating would've started screaming at him because of a comment like that, but she was so calmed by the juice of the fermented berries that she couldn't get angry even if she wanted to get angry.

Lilly, laughing happily, and Garth suddenly ran into the den, then stopped before they collided with Winston and Tony.

Garth was the first to speak. "Oh, hi, everyone. Sorry we're late. Lilly and I took a little detour." No one thought about the countless reasons Lilly and Garth seemed tired, despite having run into the cave at full speed. It was mating season, after all, and Lilly and Garth were the only wolves of the family who hadn't started a family yet. Kate and Humphrey had, but Lilly and Garth hadn't even thought about it yet, especially not as quickly as the other two had.

"Hi, Sis," Kate greeted her little sister. They approached each other and rubbed heads, then went back to standing by their respective mates.

"Garth, it's time you found a cave," Tony pressed his son and daughter-in-law. "I told you I'd give up mine."

"Lilly and I like living in the grass," Garth said. "_The very tall grass_," he added in an almost suggestive voice and a voice that implied all of those words.

But before anyone else could say anything, Claudette and Stinky ran into the cave. The happy mood that had been in the cave, despite the brief mention of the rogue wolves, left when the family of wolves saw the almost terrified looks on Claudette and Stinky's face.

Kate approached her puppies, not assuming that Runt was missing. "Hi there," she said, then sensed something was really bothering Claudette and Stinky. "Where's Runt?" she asked in a concerned tone.

Claudette and Stinky just looked at each other with large eyes and closed mouths. Neither of them wanted to explain what happened. And they wouldn't. Just because they were too nervous to talk and Runt wasn't with them, the adults knew what had happened.

Runt had been pupnapped by the rogues from Banff!


	3. Rogues of Banff

**Chapter 2:**

**Rogues of Banff**

The members of Kate's family, minus Claudette and Stinky being left in the watch of a female Beta wolf called Claws, left the Alpha den immediately and ran to the highest hill in the Western Territory. Kate and Humphrey were at the edge of the outcropping rock, with Lilly, Garth, Winston, Eve, and Tony standing behind the panicking parents in a straight line.

Kate was in tears, with Humphrey right by her side trying to keep her calm even though the truth was that he was just as upset as she was. Runt was so young and he'd been taken away by, possibly, the most brutal wolves in all of Canada.

"Where are they?" Kate asked sadly, then groaned, "Oh."

"You can find him, Kate," Humphrey reassured her.

Kate closed her eyes and went into the deep thought. When she reopened them about a minute later, Kate looked across the landscape, into the forest, then looked from left-to-right several times until she saw them. There were three adult wolves, all males, running south toward Banff. She could see something small and gray squirming in the jaws of the middle one, the skinnier one who'd told Claudette and Stinky that they had needed to be past the train tracks before it got dark out.

"Right there," Kate said, pointing them out with her front right paw. The others approached and saw the rogues running away, as Kate and Humphrey already had. "They're going to Banff. We have to go now."

"Listen," Winston said, "it'll be nightfall soon. Let's prepare a contingent and go at daybreak."

"We can't wait," Humphrey whimpered in psychological pain due to the fact that such a young wolf pup had been taken by the home of those brutal rogues. He and Kate both regretted letting Runt, Claudette, and Stinky wander around the Western Territory without any adults to protect them. They should've sent Claws or Hutch, a male Beta, with their pups so something like this wouldn't have happened! "We know this valley," he finally added.

"This is the rogues," Tony warned. "They will have a lot of wolves."

"This is what they want—lure us to the other side and then attack," Lilly said suddenly.

"I'll go organize everyone," Tony decided for the group. He was going to prepare as many Alpha and Beta wolves as he could for tomorrow. He knew they would need them all.

As Lilly, Garth, Winston, Eve, and Tony ran back to Jasper, they were unaware that two wolves weren't following them. Kate and Humphrey. They looked back at their leaving family, then in the direction that the rogues were going before nodding at each other resolutely. They look off down the hillside at full speed, intent on getting Runt back whether they had to do it with or without their pack's help.

* * *

"Nice," Runt complained when the rogue dropped him on the ground without being careful. He didn't regret it.

Runt began shaking with fear when a larger wolf appeared from the small group of rogues. There was just one she-wolf with him. Runt could've thought about how she was as beautiful as his mother was, if it wasn't for this massive male wolf towering over him. There was one scar on his face and another on his shoulder. The female behind him had a few scars as well. They all did. They also had the most unkempt manes he'd ever seen on wolves before and their fur coats were ragged and dirty. Next to the she wolf, there was a large male, not quite as large as the one standing over Runt, who had some dried splotches of blood on his fur coat, and was missing his left eye. It was an old injury, with flesh having grown over it long ago.

"_This_ small wolf is Winston's grandpup?" the large male wolf asked with belief. "The great Alpha of the Western Pack is producing runts?" He started laughing in an insulting tone that angered Runt. Runt was young, but he knew enough to understand what this wolf was saying about him and why they had taken him from the Western Territory.

"You got a problem with that?" Runt said, attempting to stand up for himself as the younger female came forward to stand next to the larger male. Runt figured they were father and daughter. It was hard to believe, he thought, when he considered how much more beautiful the female was in comparison to the male who could be her father. Maybe she cared more about what she looked like than these filthy males. Still, her fur coat was dirty, ratty, and had some blood on it. But she appeared to be much cleaner than the males all around her and the male by her side.

"See what happens when you let your Alpha daughter marry an Omega?" he continued mocking Runt.

"And you are?" Runt spat.

"King," the large male snarled at Runt, who didn't even flinch.

"Original," Runt said sarcastically. "And let me guess—you're Princess."

"Yes," the beautiful female said in a calm yet serious voice that just made her seem even more beautiful.

"Well, King, don't blame me if you were rejected by my grandpa," Runt let out his own insult.

And it was an insult that stung King's pride. He snarled at Runt and got in the puppy's face. Runt panicked and a frightened look came over his face as he whimpered. King was about to strike Runt when Princess got between them, much to the surprise of her father and the other rogues.

"Father, let me handle him," Princess said calmly. She picked Runt up, gently, in her jaws, and trotted off with him. She didn't let him swing around like one of Runt's captors had. She felt for his poor pup who had been taken away from his parents on the time of year that was supposed to be the happiest. She almost wanted to let him go when no one was looking, even tell him the way back to the Western Territory. Like many of the other wolves, Princess and King were both former Eastern Pack Wolves, but they'd went rogue because they didn't agree with the new pack law that allowed free marriage between all three ranks—Alpha, Beta, and Omega. But Princess was much less of a bigot toward Betas and Omegas than the others were, being a rather young wolf. She was a generation older than Runt, obviously, but was a generation younger than his parents were. Originally, her name had been Terra, and her father's name had been Slash, before they'd gone rogue. Her mother, Queen, used to be called Meryl. She'd hated them name, unlike her mate and daughter, and refused to be called it now that her name was Queen. She wasn't here, though, having stayed back in Banff due to her second pregnancy.

"This is all you brought me?" King yelled at the three rogues who brought Runt to their 'hideout' half way between Jasper and Banff. "What about the other two?"

"Hey, it got complicated," the rogue who had carried Runt here complained. "We had to fight off a bear and this guy was in a tree."

* * *

"Are you sure this is a shortcut to Banff?" Kate asked Humphrey as they ran through the forest only an hour later, when it was after nightfall.

"Positive," Humphrey said with a nod. "The Omegas used to log board here. All we gotta do is get over the stream."

Kate and Humphrey both recognized this area. It was where they'd ended up after leaving Idaho, and losing their ride back to Jasper, in the back of a truck. They'd used the vine that still hung over the canyon. But Kate didn't see any stream here. Not like what had been here over a year ago.

"I thought you said this was a stream," Kate whined.

"Okay. Wrong season," Humphrey replied nervously. He knew how Kate could get when she was stressed. He'd rather see her angry, it was that bad.

"How are we gonna get across this?" she asked. "Hmm," she sighed in a thinking tone. Then they noticed the vine hanging over the valley and Kate cast a knowing look at Humphrey.

"No, Kate. No vines."

But Kate didn't stop staring at Humphrey with that same look that almost felt piercing. "But we did it last time," Kate argued.

"I was young, impulsive," he tried to argue, then cave in. They got onto the vine. First Humphrey and the Kate joined in, biting down forcefully with her powerful jaws. Humphrey was glad it was just his tail being crushed in those jaws and not, for example, his throat! But that didn't mean this felt good. It hurt, but there were worse things that she could be biting right now. Like, once again, his throat!

"And now I'm old and impulsive," Humphrey said in a muffled voice, trying not to lose his grip on the vine. That wouldn't end well. "Kate, wiggle around. Wiggle," he instructed Kate in a nervous tone.

"I'm trying," Kate said in the same muffled tone. She was trying to keep from falling, but the taste and texture of Humphrey's tail in her mouth was all but unbearable. It made her want to spit, but spitting meant death. She couldn't let go of this tail. "Whoa! Whoa!" Kate began yelping.

"I don't know if I can hold you," Humphrey whined, fearing that he'd lose Kate here.

"Well, you held me last time," Kate scoffed.

"Yeah, well, that was a year ago," Humphrey said in a cocky tone. But then he realized how wrong Kate could've, and had, taken that.

"Are you implying that I've gained weight?" Kate almost yelped with offense. Was her mate really saying she was fat?

"Are we really doing this right now?" he asked, trying to make his mate forget he'd said that. But he knew that not much would make her forget that he'd implied her having gained weight in the past year. "Please, Kate, come on. Wiggle."

Kate began doing just that, wiggling and shaking her body until her tail was up to Humphrey's nose, tickling it. And then it happened. They swung forward and then Humphrey lost his grip on the vine, and they were thrown through the air right toward the cliff on the other side of the canyon. The pair of wolves landed with a low thud, groaned in pain for a few seconds, and then stood up. They just shook it off as if nothing had happened. They were more worried about Runt than they were about themselves.

"Good job, Omega," Kate complimented him, knowing that she would've fallen to her death if weren't for his quick thinking.

"It's all in the tail," Humphrey laughed. "You know, what's left of it."

Kate shot a brief at her good-natured mate and then they continued to the south—

—to Banff.


	4. The Rainstorm

**Chapter 3:**

**The Rainstorm**

Rain. The last thing Kate and Humphrey needed as they neared the end of the forest they'd come from over a year ago, during their return to Jasper Park, where they had slept the night before crossing this forest in the other direction. They saw the same opening underneath a tree where they'd slept that night a year ago, after losing their ride to Jasper in the back of a truck, only to be found by Marcel and Paddy the morning after.

"We need to move on," Kate said to Humphrey.

Although the wolves moved about half a foot before it happened, Humphrey didn't have a chance to talk before a tree branch split, and then landed not far in front of them. They both gasped, then Humphrey said, "Kate, we need to wait this out. Come on. Over here." He went to the same opening they'd slept in the last time they'd come here and Kate followed immediately. They shook themselves dry, looked at each other one time, and then fell asleep quickly. The last thing either of them thought about before falling asleep was Runt and if he was okay.

* * *

And they were actually better off than Runt was. He was all alone in the rock the rogues were sleeping, out in the open like the two or three who were on watch for attackers. The sleeping rogues were underneath rock outcroppings and openings in the ground similar to the one Kate and Humphrey had just fallen asleep in.

It was raining in this area, as it was in the forest where Runt's parents were at this moment, and they'd left Runt out in the open because he was just bait to draw the Eastern and Western wolves to Banff. With his eyes closed, Runt as shivering as Princess approached him. He opened his eyes not because he knew she had come his way, but because he'd heard her footsteps. She had something pink and bloody in her jaws. It was meat.

Runt couldn't believe the size of Princess's teeth. "My, what large teeth you have," he said in a shocked voice.

Princess dropped the piece of meat, causing a stain of blood on the rock that was instantly washed away by the rain. "You look cold," she said.

Runt tried to convince her that he was fine. He tried not to shiver. "No, I'm just, well—" Runt let out a massive shiver that cut his sentence off and he gave the ruse up. "Okay, I'm freezing."

"And probably hungry."

"I, uh—I'm a picky eating. Just warning you," Runt said. But when Princess threw the bloody piece of meat at him, he forgot all about being a picky eater. Instinct took over immediately. "But I can be flexible," he added then started eating. Runt ate half of the chunk of meat. "Mm, yummy!" he said, then let out a burp.

Princess started at the puppy as Runt smiled at her innocently. She felt a sudden and strange feeling in her heart because of how darn cute this puppy looked in this instant. But what Runt did next shocked her. Rather than eating it, he threw the other half of the meat back to her.

Princess's eyes grew larger. "Why aren't you eating the rest?" she asked in a stunned voice. "Don't you know how scarce meat is?"

"I was leaving the other half for you," the puppy explained. "You know, like sharing. I guess it's an Omega thing," he added.

"When we have a kill," Princess explained, "those who eat fight for it.'

"And I'm sure the pups do really well under that scenario," Runt replied with a sarcastic bite in his voice.

That got to Princess immediately. She viciously snarled at Runt as she forced him against a rock wall underneath one of the outcroppings in the area. "The Alpha pups do," she growled, then the anger in her voice left. "Sleep there. It'll be warmer." Princess walked off, leaving Runt all alone again.

Runt looked around, noticing how the guards were all looking at him angrily, the rough-looking female called Melissa in particular. She was giving Runt deaths stare and baring her fangs. Melissa growled at Runt but he managed to fall into a deep sleep a few minutes later.

* * *

Garth was busy instructing his fellow Alphas and the Betas who were going to Banff on the rescue mission as Winston entered the Alpha den. Lilly, Eve, and Tony were already there, awaiting news.

"Kate and Humphrey," Winston sighed. "They're always doing things their way."

"Don't they realize how dangerous the rogues can be?" Tony asked.

"I know what the rogues are planning," Lilly said suddenly.

"What is it, my smart Omega?" Eve asked, with a concerned look on her face.

Lilly began speaking in a voice that got more serious with every word. "They want us to send most of our Alphas to find Runt and get trapped by the winter. Then they'll have another pack—hiding in the fields—attack and destroy our home." Then her voice got sadder. "The Omegas, the Betas…"

"Well, let 'em trying," Tony said in a threatening voice.

"We'll have to go with a smaller contingent," Winston said as Garth entered the cave. A shocked look cave over Garth's face. "Leave some of the Alphas here…just in case."

"Everyone's ready to go at daybreak," Garth said.

"We can only bring half of them," Winston told Garth, shocking him even more. The concerned look on Garth's face intensified. "I'll explain later," Winston added as he left the cave.

Lilly approached Garth, her mate. "I'm coming, too."

"No. No, Lilly," Garth said, fearing that something bad could happen to Lilly if she came along. "This is an Alpha affair."

"No," Lilly argued. "This is a _family_ affair."

"I'll stay here with them," Eve said, referring to Claudette and Stinky, who smiled at their grandmother before seemingly falling asleep.

"Let's all get some rest," Winston said as he re-entered the Alpha den.

* * *

"You see, he _is_ weak," King said to his daughter. He sounded angry. "If he were pure Alpha, he wouldn't be cold." There was a growl in King's voice.

King was stunned when Princess left his side suddenly and went to Runt's side. "What are you doing?" he asked her in disbelief.

"Making sure our 'bait' stays alive." Princess discreetly used the term "bait" loosely since it referred to Runt. It angered her that they called Runt bait. But she knew not to argue with her aggressive father. That would be a foolish mistake.

"This is against pack law," a rogue said. It was the same rogue who had carried Runt to this place. "This is what we fight against."

"If you would've brought more bait, she wouldn't have to do this!" King shouted. "We leave at daybreak," he added with a growl.

Princess kept her eyes on them as they walked away, feeling hate toward them because of how everyone in her pack had been treating poor Runt.

* * *

Claudette and Stinky made sure all of their adult relatives were sleeping before they stirred. They watched for a second or two, then got up and left the Alpha den silently. Not even the two male wolves "guarding" the den—they were sleeping—heard them leave. The male on the left opened his eyes, saw nothing, and went back to sleep quickly.

"How do we find which way Mom and Dad went?" Claudette asked Stinky as they ran through the forest, unaware that their parents had run down this same path.

"Go through the field," Stinky said. "I'll smell them out."

* * *

Runt yawned, stretched his front legs out, and then nuzzled Princess's left shoulder before going still again. He was asleep, unlike Princess, but tended to move in his sleep, especially when he was nervous. And Runt was nervous now. Princess could sense it as she looked down at the puppy, feeling an odd warm feeling in her heart and stomach again. She felt a smile growing on her lips and her large ears lay back in a calm position. Even her eyes appeared calmer.

She felt that warm feeling and the smile on her face leave when she saw her old friend Melissa giving them the same death stare she had given Runt not too much earlier. But, when Melissa frantically looked in the direction of a sudden loud noise—a branch cracking and a few stones rolling down an incline—Princess relaxed then fell asleep, wrapping her tail around Runt's body.


	5. Yes, Father

**Chapter 4:**

"**Yes, Father…"**

Kate and Humphrey were sleeping soundly until a familiar voice woke them up.

"I can't believe my eyes."

Kate and Humphrey stirred, blinked their eyes to clear them, and then saw two birds standing not far away from the small den they'd slept in overnight. They were shocked not only by the sudden appearance of their old friends Marcel—a French-Canadian Goose—and Paddy—an English Dusk but also because they'd slept the entire night away rather than just the duration of the storm. They were thinking about Runt's fate as they approached the two birds who they met in Sawtooth National Park in Idaho and who helped them home.

"Marcel! Paddy!" Kate exclaimed, but not in an entirely happy voice. There was a bit of distress and guilt in her voice because of the situation involving Runt and how they'd slept the night away rather than looking for their youngest pup. He could be dead!

"Guys, are we glad to see you," Humphrey said in the same tone that Kate had addressed the birds in.

"And I you," Marcel said as he hugged Kate, then told Paddy to do the same. He reluctantly did it, then backed away from Kate. "You see, Paddy?" he said to the duck. "That wasn't so bad."

"It was a—appropriate," Paddy stammered.

"How did you find us?" Humphrey asked them.

"Let's just say someone's bad shot flew up and over the cliff," Paddy said, referring to how Marcel golfed and had hit the ball too far with his club.

"Never mind the wrong club," Marcel argued good-naturedly.

"Well, this is really serious." The tone of Humphrey's voice changed in this moment. "The rogue wolves have captured Runt," he told their old friends.

Paddy's eyes grew large. "What?" he gasped.

"This is terrible," Marcel said, horrified. "I have seen these rogue wolves. Mean things. They never share their kill with the birds."

"We think they're in Banff," Kate said.

"Well, count us in," Paddy said, nodding.

"Why, of course," Marcel said. "Yes, yes."

* * *

The rogue wolves were running south through a snow-covered field. They went on far ahead, while Princess was running much slower because she had to carry Runt in her jaws. They didn't care if she got left behind—Princess could always just catch up later. "And she'd better," King had said threatening, "or we'll hunt her and the runt down." Because of overhearing that threat when they'd thought both her and Runt had been sleeping last night, Princess knew it was better to catch up with the others as fast as possible rather than to run away. She didn't want to die, nor did she want Runt to die, either.

Princess slowed down after running for a while, then started panting heavily as she slowly trotted across the snow, leaving a trail of paw prints behind her, as the other rogues had. She was out of breath due to running to keep caught up with the other rogues, in addition to the wolf up hanging from her jaws by the hackles on the back of his neck. He wasn't as light of a wolf pup as she'd thought he was.

"Wow, what a way to spend the holidays—away from my family," Runt said, trying to sound cheerful, but Princess noticed the sadness hidden in all the cheerfulness this optimistic wolf pup had.

Princess sighed, blinked her eyes, and then started walking faster when the others went out of sight.

* * *

While Kate and Humphrey were walking down in a valley, with Marcel and Paddy flying overhead, past a river similar to the one they'd swung across on the vine two days ago, they were unaware of two wolf pups following them. Claudette and Stinky. Their parents didn't even know those two had caught up with them.

But Stinky intended to change that upon realizing they hadn't been noticed yet.

"Mom! Dad!" Stinky called down to his parents.

Kate was the first one to hear his voice and spun around, then gasped in horror when she saw both Claudette and Stinky up on a cliff. She and Humphrey couldn't believe they'd followed them this far!

"Aren't those your other pups?" Paddy asked in an almost confused voice.

Humphrey ignored Paddy. "Stinky, Claudette, what are you two doing here?" he asked, shouting up at them.

"We came to help find Runt," Claudette called down to her parents.

"By yourselves?" Kate yelped.

"Um, yeah," Stinky said. "Kind of."

"How the heck did you find us?" Humphrey yelped.

"I sniffed you out," Stinky said, sniffing for emphasis just after saying that.

"Great," Kate scoffed sarcastically. "All we needed."

"I think it's so charming…when the little ones' personalities match their parents'," Marcel said.

"Yes. They are what you would call 'drama wolves'," Paddy agreed.

"You two are grounded," Kate shouted at Claudette and Stinky. "You hear me? Grounded!"

Now Marcel was confused. "How does one ground someone in the outdoors?" he asked Paddy, who didn't have a chance to answer before the wolves started talking again.

"Well, we lost Runt, so we're gonna find him, like it or not," Stinky said resolutely. "Together. That is what we'll do."

"You're not going to talk us out of this," Claudette said in just as stubborn of a voice.

"You two, stay right there," Kate ordered then.

"Hey, guys, listen," Humphrey said to Marcel and Paddy. "Would you go talk some sense into the pups?" The birds nodded their heads, then flew up toward the cliff where Claudette and Stinky were still. For now.

"How did our parents get across?" Stinky asked his older sister.

"Oh!" Claudette gasped. "Remember how they said they flew across on a vine? We were like, 'Yeah right'."

"Now, pups, do not get any grand ideas," Marcel told them.

"This is for Runt!" Stinky cried as he jumped toward the vine hanging over the middle of the canyon. He reached it and clenched his teeth into the vine and just hung there.

"Stinky!" Kate screamed in horror at the same moment Marcel and Paddy had.

"Stinky!" Humphrey screamed.

And when Claudette repeated Stinky's action, only grabbing his tail in her jaws rather than the vine, both Kate and Humphrey screamed, in unison, "Claudette!"

"Uh, now what?" Stinky mumbled, trying not to lose his grip on the vine as his father had two days ago. Only his jaws weren't as powerful as his father's were, so it was harder for him to keep his grip on the vine. And it was harder for Claudette to keep her grip on Stinky's tail than it had been for Kate to keep her grip on Humphrey's tail.

"Um, uh—" Claudette mumbled.

"Oh, dear, oh, dear," Marcel gasped when he realized how Stinky didn't have a powerful bite down on the vine and how Claudette didn't have a good grip on Stinky's tail. "What do we do?" But he knew what to do just as quickly as he brought the question up.

"Okay, let's help them," Paddy said when he saw Marcel fly toward the vines. Paddy did the same.

"Help them swing it. Yes!" Marcel shouted triumphantly as they pushed the vine together, trying to get Claudette and Stinky to a speed where they can jump and land on the cliff below with their parents.

"Oh no. I can't hold on." Claudette was horrified when she felt her jaws slipping from Stinky's tail.

"My tail will never be the same," Stinky complained, seemingly ignoring how his sister was about to fall into the valley—to her death!

"Push. Push," Marcel ordered Paddy and they both pushed the vine harder.

"Oh, my gosh. What do we—" Kate began in a horrified voice, but Humphrey cut her off.

"Jump," he ordered their pups. "Jump!"

Claudette and Stinky both threw themselves in the direction of their parents when Marcel and Paddy pushed the vine in that direction. Although they landed on the hard ground with a grunt, Claudette and Stinky were both unharmed thankfully.

"Oh, oh!" Marcel and Paddy groaned as they landed by the two puppies, who immediately ran to their parents.

"Are you all okay?" Humphrey asked them. Claudette and Stinky nodded nervously, regretting how they'd attempted vine swinging. "They _so_ take after you," he said, casting a glance at Kate.

"Me?" Kate was stunned that he could say that about her. "Humphrey, that is all you," she argued good-naturedly after realizing he was joking.

"Alright, you two." Humphrey got serious now. He and Kate both cast angrily looks at Claudette and Stinky, who both stared up at their parents sadly. But then their parents smiled and so did the pups, knowing they weren't in trouble like they'd feared they were.

"Oh!" Claudette let out a sigh of relief as Kate scratched her on the back with her paw and Humphrey did the same to Stinky. The wolves all hugged then Marcel and Paddy joined in.

* * *

"I cannot believe those pups snuck out last night," Winston said to Tony. They were still in Jasper, but they intended to leave with the other Alphas and Betas, and Lilly, soon.

"They're sly little guys," Tony said. "Take after their parents."

And then the large group of wolves took off from the area just outside the Alpha den, heading south toward Banff. Lilly and Garth were leading the group, with Winston, Eve, and Tony not far behind them. The Beta wolves Claws, Hutch, Candu, and Scar were on either side of them. All of the wolves were hoping they wouldn't be too late—for Kate and Humphrey, for Claudette and Stinky, and, above all, for Runt.

* * *

Runt was the first one to see Marcel and Paddy flying overhead. The rogues noticed just as quickly. Princess wasn't far away from Runt, but there were two larger rogues just as close. Melissa and an aggressive male called Scava who had a particular hatred of Princess for events of their younger days.

Runt was surrounded by rogues—there was no escaping, even if Princess decided to help him get away.

"Even the birds smell death," Scava muttered. He had a deep voice, even deeper—and more threatening—than King's voice was. And, unlike the rest of the rogues, Scava had jet-black fur rather than brown fur.

"Yeah, I think they're smelling you," Runt spat bitterly.

There was a loud snarl as Scava went for Runt, attempting to physically correct the pup for what he said. But he didn't have a chance due to Princess getting between them. Princess and Scava were growling at each other as Princess blocked Scava's path. He could barely see Runt let alone reach him.

"Back away," Princess growled threateningly, showing her fangs and gums.

"Let me at that smart-aleck Omega," Scava growled at her and Runt.

"Nice. Did I cause this?" Runt brought himself into the argument.

But Princess and Scava both ignored the pup now and began snarling loudly at each other. Princess began forcing herself into Scava's face, with her mouth wide open in a way that allowed Scava to see down her throat as she drove him closer and closer to the cliffside. She drove him toward it until Scava disappeared before her eyes, with a yelp. He whimpered in pain as he got up, seeing no way to get out at first. But he saw a ramp-like ledge and went toward it immediately.

"Walk it off!" Runt called down to Scava in a taunting voice. Scava growled at Runt as Princess spit on him in a disrespectful fashion. Runt looked at Princess. What he said next touched her heart deeply. "You're just like my mom," he told her.

Princess turned to face Runt but she almost ran into her father instead. King was furious. "Why did you do that?" he asked her angrily.

"He was going to attack our—" Princess began.

"If they don't send a rescue brigade by sundown, the runt is of no use to us," King snarled. "Do you understand me?" he shouted at Princess.

"Yes, father," Princess said, bowing her head. King didn't realize it, but his daughter didn't mean that. She didn't want to kill Runt and would do anything to keep him alive. Nothing would happen to this pup on her watch. She'd never leave him alone, especially now that he had Scava _and_ Melissa to worry about.

And Princess feared that something bad would happen to Runt's family soon. She didn't know what, but she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach about the future. She looked at Runt and the feeling got worse. It was a feeling she couldn't shake, no matter how much she tried to.

Princess silently prayed Runt wouldn't die then got closer to him, literally, than she had ever before now.


	6. Bonding

**Chapter 5**

**Bonding**

"You're just like my mom." That was what that little pup had told her after she'd driven his attacker off the cliff and that statement had touched Princess's heart deeply. She remembered Kate from when she had lived in the Eastern Territory, in Jasper, and couldn't believe that her pup had compared to her Kate. Princess had never considered herself to be anything like Kate.

There was something about little Runt that reminded Princess of the puppy she'd lost. All of the rogues knew about what had happened to her. She had just given birth to her first litter of puppies not long after her mate had died in conflict with outsiders trying to take over Banff. They had failed, but her mate had lost his life. And things had gotten worse. A small forest fire in Banff claimed the lives of all but one of her puppies. She had managed to rescue him. And now, she realized how much Runt resembled that one survivor. But he was dead now, too. He had gotten killed by Scava who had confused him for an Omega pup.

_Or so he says_, Princess thought. She'd never liked Scava and now that he had attacked Runt, she had an even deeper hate for him than she had prior.

It was night out and Runt was lying up against Princess's cream-colored belly, half-asleep. Runt was in a position that allowed him to look up at Princess as she looked around for Scava and Melissa, who seemed to have it out for Runt. But at least Melissa had never attacked Runt, unlike Scava. She'd just given him a death stare. Other than that, she had left that little pup alone.

_He looks so much like my dead son,_ Princess thought, smiling down at Runt, who seemed to be unaware that she was looking at him._ If I hadn't seen him dead, I would think Runt is my son._ Princess was a rather young wolf, no more than a year older than the pup resting up against her belly. She had been even younger, maybe half a year old, when she had given birth.

Runt noticed that Princess was smiling at him. Although he smiled back at her, he didn't have a chance to speak before Princess did.

"Did you really mean that when you said, 'You're just like my mom'?" Princess asked Runt.

"Yes," Runt said good-naturedly. "You act just like her…and you keep me safe from your own pack. Only a mother would do that for a puppy."

_But I'm not his mother,_ Princess thought, shocked, _just his protector. But I feel so much like his mother…_ Princess was so close to Runt. Ever since she had told her father that she would keep him alive, Princess had felt a bond growing between her and Runt. It was the kind of bond that a mother shared with her puppies. She attributed the start of this bond due to the son who had been killed by Scava before her eyes. There were so few differences between him and Runt that she would swear she had given birth to Runt as well.

"You consider me to be your mother?" Princess asked in a stunned voice.

"You're the closest thing to a mother here," Runt said with a smile. The pup yawned, stretched out his legs, and then fell asleep with his face buried in Princess's belly.

Princess let out a sigh. It was a sad sigh. _This little guy doesn't deserve to be stuck in a place like this_, she thought. _It breaks my heart that he has to be here, away from his parents. No pup deserves to be taken away from their parents…not at any age._

She looked up to see a rough-looking female coming toward them. It was Melissa, who was always a scary site, with her ragged, rough-looking fur, one eye being larger than the other was, and blood all over her fur. Then again, all of the rogues had blood all over their fur except for Princess and her parents. Melissa always looked angry even when she wasn't, but that was just something she did to seem tough. But Princess and Runt both remembered how Melissa had been startled when she heard a tree branch cracking when a squirrel had run across it.

"What do you want?" Princess asked harshly.

"Just to talk," Melissa said.

"Stay away from him," Princess said when Melissa got close to Runt, who was still sleeping up against her tan belly.

"I don't want to hurt him," the grayish-brown she-wolf said. "Why on Earth would I hurt a pup?"

"You're just like the rest of them."

"If I was, I would've attacked Runt like Scava did," Melissa said in an argumentative voice. "I don't have the heart to hurt a pup."

"Prove it," Princess growled.

"Have I approached him before now?" Princess just stared at her and didn't say a word. "Exactly, old friend," Melissa went on. She looked around to be sure no one was within hearing range. And no one was, thankfully.

"You have more to say, don't you?" Princess asked. They were both whispering so they wouldn't wake Runt up.

"Yes, I do," Melissa sighed. "It has to do with King and all his beliefs." Princess almost gasped. "Ever since Geoff and those other two fools took Runt from Jasper, I have doubted my loyalty to your parents. I just feel that it's wrong for them to take pups away from their parents."

"Be careful with what you say," Princess warned. "My parents seem to have spies everywhere."

"Let them find out," Melissa growled quietly. "I'd rather die than know that I let them get away with stealing a pup for stupid reasons. King and Queen just want to use this little guy to take over Jasper, then they'll just kill him and anyone else who gets in their way."

"What?" Princess gasped, almost waking Runt up. A brush of her tail put him back to sleep.

"You know it's true," Melissa said.

"No, I never knew that until now," she said.

"Your parents never told you?"

"No, they didn't," Princess said with an angry look in her eyes. "They must not trust me…"

"They don't trust anyone but each other," Melissa sighed. "It's bad when they can't even trust their only surviving child." She looked at Runt, who had his head against Princess's belly, his front legs resting on his chest, and his hind legs stretched out in front of him. Princess wrapped her tail around the pup. "I don't want anything to happen to him," she said, referring to the pup.

"Neither do I," Princess said, lying her head down on the soft grass. She was on her side, with her belly exposed so Runt could sleep against it the entire night. "It would kill me on the inside if something bad happened to him." She looked up at Melissa, who looked down at Princess at the same time. "Promise this one thing."

"Anything," Melissa said.

"If something happens to me, or if Runt is left all alone," she said slowly, "when his pack comes to get him, get Runt to safety. Get him as far away from Banff as possible—but try to get him back to his family."

"Excuse me?" she gasped. Melissa couldn't believe what she was hearing. "'If something happens to you'? What?" She was shocked and a bit horrified.

"Yes," Princess said. "If something happens to me, take care of him. I fear a bad fate is in store for me in the future…"

"W-Why?" Melissa stammered.

"I don't know. I just have a gut feeling something bad will happen to him…and this little guy—" She motioned at Runt with her front left paw. "—will see it happen. But listen to me, if anything does happen to me…you take good care of Runt like I have been. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, I do." Melissa's voice shook as those words escaped her mouth. She didn't seem angry in this moment but horrified that Princess could say what she just did.

"Now get back on watch before you get caught talking to me," Princess ordered her friend in a whisper. Melissa walked away without saying another word, with the angry look she was known for on her face again by the time she returned to her post.

But Melissa couldn't stop thinking about what Princess had told her. Would something really happen to her? Would Princess…die?


	7. A Distressed Mother

**Chapter 6:**

**A Distressed Mother**

"Runt!" Kate screamed as she woke up from a dark nightmare. She was lying on her side, whimpering and gasping.

Humphrey ran to her immediately, with Claudette and Stinky not far behind him. "What-What's wrong?" he stammered.

"I-I had a terrible nightmare about Runt and the rogues," Kate said, in tears. "T-They were chasing him all around a clearing, shouting about 'killing the bait,' and snarling at our little pup…" Kate collapsed at Humphrey's paws. "…and a black-colored wolf tore him apart!" Kate wailed.

Humphrey's eyes grew large, as did Claudette and Stinky's eyes. He got close to Kate and buried his cold, wet nose into Kate's hackles, which were raised despite her fear. They normally only rose when a wolf was angry, not scared. Humphrey's action seemed to have a minor calming effect on his mate.

"It was just a bad dream," Humphrey told Kate, as he ran his nose through her hackles. "I'm sure Runt is fine."

"B-But," Kate stammered in a shaking voice, "i-it seemed so real…the wolf's name was Scava…the only who killed him. And there were two females who tried to stop it, but were too late…"

Although she was horrified, Claudette managed to ask, "Do you remember their names?"

"One of them was called 'Princess,' but I can't remember the name of the other female. Melissa, MaKayla. Michelle…something that starts with an 'M'…"

Humphrey looked at his other two pups, then back to Kate. "If you can, get back to sleep," he said in a voice that relaxed her. "Runt is fine, I promise." He licked Kate across the cheek with his tongue, then she fell asleep. Humphrey laid down next to her, and the pups got between them. Marcel and Paddy were perched in a tree overhead, sleeping.

Humphrey had one last thought before he fell asleep again. _Is Runt okay or am I just saying that to keep Kate calm?_

* * *

His parents didn't know it, but Runt was perfectly fine under Princess and Melissa's watch. Their fellow rogues didn't know that Melissa was still on watch because she wanted to make sure none of the others, particularly Scava, hurt Runt.

Melissa was surprised Princess had stopped at driving Scava off a cliff when he'd threatened to cuff Runt for being "a smart-aleck Omega." Melissa had been there and had expected, even wanted, Princess to kill him for what he had attempted to do. She didn't like Scava one bit. Not even when they had all been Eastern Wolves in Jasper. He had always been a cruel wolf. And Melissa had always felt that wolves who attacked defenseless pups didn't deserve to live.

As usual, Melissa, although making sure no one went after Princess, and especially Runt, who was far more defenseless, she was doing so discreetly so the other guards wouldn't think she's gone against King. The last thing Melissa wanted to happen was get figured out and become known that she hated everything King and Queen were doing.

"How's he doing?" Melissa asked Princess when the leader of the wolves on watch said she could have a break to eat and take care of whatever business she needed to.

"Good," Princess said, "but he needs his mother's milk."

_Damn_, Melissa thought, not wanting to curse around a pup. "I was afraid this would happen," she said.

"As was I," Princess said. "The bad thing is that neither of us have milk in our bodies to give him nor are there any pregnant females who would willingly give up their milk for a pup that isn't there."

Melissa's eyes grey large. It was the kind of look a wolf got when he or she had thought of something. "You're wrong," she said, causing Princess to give her a confused look. "There is one female who lost the only pup she gave birth to—I can't imagine what condition that could've afflicted in such a way to only have one pup and that pup to die before his eyes and ears even opened up. She still has milk in her body. The amount of milk you would expect a female to have in her body if she only had one pup in her womb."

"Can you find her?" Princess asked anxiously.

"Of course," Melissa said. "But I only have ten minutes before they expect me to be on watch again."

Melissa darted off and returned with that female, whose name not many of their pack new, in less than two minutes. This female, who had been through so much, was more than willing to help Runt out, even if she knew it could be against the pack laws created by King and Queen. But she didn't care. She was suffering due to the milk in her body and there was a wolf pup who needed milk.

They would both benefit from this, the wolf pup more than either of them. Sure, she would get sick if the milk wasn't removed from her body, but that was so much better than what would happen to this little pup if he didn't get milk. He would die due to not getting the nutrients he needed to grow and be healthy. The good news was that, like Princess and Melissa were, this she-wolf was perfectly healthy—a rarity in this brutal pack of wolves—so Runt would get the most benefit possible from drinking her milk, even if it wasn't Kate's milk.

Kate had only produced enough to give Claudette and Stinky the amount they needed, while Runt had finished what little had been left over—the two older pups had always driven Runt away from Kate's breasts, when they had still be nursing, because he was the runt of the litter. It wasn't because they were being cruel to their little brother, it was just the natural instinct of wolf pups to stop runts of a little from nursing until they had gotten all the benefit. But there was no explanation as to why Kate hadn't produced enough milk for all three of her pups regardless. For that reason, Runt had to drink milk from one of those very rare, yet unfortunate, she-wolves who produced milk for one more pup than she ended up giving birth to.

"Thank you for doing this," Princess said in a whisper. The guards seemed not to care that they were nursing the "bait," thinking about how they would do the same for their pups if they didn't have the proper milk. The rogues were cruel and brutal but they wouldn't deny any wolf pup, especially a runt, the right to nurse if he needed it. Personal reasons aside, they needed to keep Runt alive if they were to draw his family here, and take over Jasper. Nursing was one way they could do that, as wolf pups died if they didn't nurse. That was common knowledge among wolves, even the most ignorant of ones.

"Don't thank me," the she-wolf said as Runt nursed. "I just want this little guy to live. And we both benefit…he lives and I get rid of this curse."

"Curse?" Melissa was confused.

"Yes, any female who has milk in them for too long will contract horrible conditions, almost an illness, because of it. I'm a perfectly healthy wolf but there's nothing that can stop the dark side of our milk from showing its face…"

_Oh no_, Melissa thought when she heard a familiar voice. It was an angry, booming voice.

"What is going on over here?"

"Father…" Princess gulped.

"Scava too," Melissa growled. "And Geoff and MaKayla…this isn't going to end well…"

Princess and Melissa's hackles, ears, and tails were raised as five of their fellow pack members approached. From left-to-right, it was King, his mate Queen, and three of the wolves who had been keeping watching—Scava, a she-wolf called MaKayla, and Melissa's "friend" Geoff.

"You wanted to keep him alive, didn't you?" Melissa asked harshly. "What, you changed your mind now?"

"You watch your tone with him, Melissa!" Queen exploded.

"That's enough," King said to his mate, who immediately backed off. She knew it wasn't that smart to make King mad, even if she could be worse than he could be, in terms of anger. So could their daughter and Melissa—Melissa always seemed to have an angry expression on her face, as if she was bottling up an angry that could come out at any time. "Yes, I did say that, but you all know the pack law. No nursing runts and enslaved pups!"

"You must want him to die, then," Melissa said.

"Excuse me?" King was clearly unaware of what happened to wolf pups who didn't nurse.

"You don't even know that wolf pups can die if they don't die!" Princess was stunned.

"What kinds of wolves don't know that?" the female who was nursing Runt said.

"Ugh," King growled, baring his fangs.

"Fine," Queen said for him. "We'll make an exception _this time_ since we want to keep the runt alive. But don't expect us to do this for every whiny little wolf pup who needs milk. They can just go crawl in a hole and die!"

King and Queen both left before the three adults could say anything. Although he was shaking with fear and crying because of what just happened, Runt was still nursing. The female whose milk he was drinking wrapped her tail around Runt, hoping that would relax him more.

"And when the time comes," Scava said darkly, "I'll enjoy tearing that little guy's throat out. I'm a bit hungry for some wolf pup meat," he added, licking his lips.

"You get away from him," Melissa snarled and blocked Scava's path to Runt and the nursing female. "You want him, you get through me first, if you think you can handle it."

"Another time," Scava growled, "when you're not around to help Princess save that little Omega _runt_. I will savor every moment of tearing his little throat out and eating him…"

"ENOUGH!" Princess roared.

Runt wasn't just shedding tears now but he was all out bawling his eyes out as the same female tried to comfort him.

"Why don't you just leave before someone does get hurt?" Melissa growled at Scava for a second, if not a third, time.

"You've become soft," MaKayla spat.

"Leave," Princess snarled. She was baring her fangs now.

"What can you do?" Scava laughed. "You're a weak Alpha who loves that weak Omega."

Princess rushed forward, but Melissa managed to hold her back. Just barely, though.

"See, she is weak!" MaKayla taunted. "Even someone like Melissa can hold Princess back!"

And the three rogue Alphas left, laughing hysterically and continuing to taunt Princess, claiming that she was weak.

"We'll just see who is weak very soon," Princess snarled under her breath. "Starting with you, Scava…"

And then she noticed how Runt was still bawling his eyes out because of what Scava had said about him. Princess only thought about how Scava shouldn't have said that and how he would pay dearly for that mistake.


	8. Queen's Dark Intentions

**Chapter 7**

**Queen's Dark Intentions**

"They were here," Humphrey said as he, Kate, and Stinky sniffed around the plateau where the small group of rogues and Runt had spent the night before returning to Banff.

"And Runt was here" Stinky gasped upon sniffing the spot where Runt had slept at Princess's side.

"Runt!" Kate yelped and ran over to smell the spot that Stinky just had. Not only did she pick up her youngest son's scent but the scent of an older she-wolf too.

Humphrey and Stinky noticed that older she-wolf's scent as well. They didn't know it was Princess, but…

"She was protecting Runt," Claudette said suddenly.

"What?" Kate gasped.

"Claudette, please," Stinky said obnoxiously. "I'm the one with the powerful sense of smell. It's never wrong. You said that yourself."

"Let her talk," Humphrey said, provoking Stinky to back off and lay his ears back.

"How do you know she was protecting Runt?" Kate asked Claudette.

"Just smell the area where they were resting," Claudette explained. "Their scents are so close together that Runt must've been sleeping up against her. Why would she allow that if she hadn't been protecting Runt?"

"She's right," Humphrey said after smelling all around the same spot. "Runt was here and this female was here." He motioned to the spots in question with his paw as he mentioned them. "That would mean Runt's head had been resting against her shoulder and her tail had been around him," Humphrey added.

"But where could they be now?" Marcel asked.

"Banff," Kate said with a look in her eyes that only mothers had when their pups were in danger. "The rogues have already taken him to Banff."

"I just hope that this female is still keeping him safe," Paddy whispered almost darkly.

"I'm sure Runt is fine," Humphrey said with no other intention but to keep Kate calm. He truly didn't know if Runt was fine or not. But he could hope, couldn't he?

"Let's get going," Kate said, starting to take off. Humphrey followed her, then their pups, and lastly the two birds took flight. They all turned south, toward Banff, hoping that Runt was still alive.

* * *

"Our daughter is soft," Queen growled. "She loves that little runt more than she wants to follow our pack law! Melissa is no better," she added in an angry tone.

"Don't forget that she lost her only pup," King reminded his mate. "You don't expect her to not bond with a pup that looks exactly like our dead grandchild? Her dead child?"

"No, I did expect that, but she is breaking pack law," Queen said. "Are you going to let one wolf get away with breaking pack law only because she is still grieving the loss of her only pup?"

"What else can I do?" King asked. He normally knew how to handle all situations without asking for guidance from others, but he didn't in this moment.

"We should just kill that pup and be done with it," Queen growled. "Whether we keep him alive or not, Runt's parents will still come for him. They wouldn't know that he's dead until they get here. And surely they, and any other wolves with them, would have more of a reason to fight he Runt is dead rather than alive."

"We're not killing him yet!" King snapped.

"You watch your tone," she snapped back. "Don't forget that, during mating season, the Alpha female of packs takes charge of everything. And what time of year is it? Mating season! That means you listen to me."

"Yes," King said, trying to hide the bitterness in his tone.

"If Runt's pack doesn't show up by sun rise tomorrow, he will die," Queen went on. "You said it to Princess a few days ago: 'If they don't send a rescue brigade by sundown, the runt is of no use to us.' Now, let me reword that. If they don't send a rescue bridge by sunrise tomorrow, the runt is of no use to us. Scava said he was hungry for some wolf pup meant, well, he's going to get what he wants if they don't show up tomorrow morning. Do you understand _me_?"

"Yes, dear," King said, trying to fool Queen into thinking that he would allow Runt to be killed when she wanted. But he wouldn't. King would wait until sunrise before he'd allow Runt to be killed. His mate was correct that they would show up even if Runt was killed, but that didn't matter. He wanted Kate and Humphrey to see their youngest pup die!

"Just imagine our daughter's reaction, and the reactions of Runt's parents," Queen went on, "when they see Runt getting his throat ripped out! They'll all go insane over it!" Then she started laughing evilly, as did King. When they were done laughing, Queen continued. "I would love to see his parents' reaction to him being killed! I don't know about them, but it would warm my heart to see Kate and Humphrey go through the same thing we did when Princess was only a pup!"

Queen was referring to how, only just after arriving in Banff, that Princess's younger siblings, all Alphas of course, had wandered dangerously close to the mouth of their parents den during a powerful storm. They had been swept away by the tornado-like winds and never found until a month later. They were dead and just skeletons at that point. Of course, their parents had been devastated, but the deaths of all their puppies other than Princess had only added to their evil. It made them enjoy seeing other parents suffer and mourn over the loss of their own puppies. They would love nothing more than to see Kate and Humphrey lose a pup like the one they had!

_Wait until Princess hears that, you hag_, Melissa thought, trying to hide a growl, as she listened in from behind a large rock. She didn't care if she was caught there because she was putting on an act of sleeping. But she was wide-awake, not that any of the wolves who could see her knew it. She had told them she would sleep there for a while and those fools had fallen for it! How stupid of them to actually think that she was just lying there to sleep! They even thought she was sleeping, not eavesdropping on King and Queen. _They're so stupid_, she thought. _So are King and Queen!_ _They're all fools!_

Melissa waited a few minutes before she "woke up" because she knew that some of the other wolves, including Scava, MaKayla, and Geoff, had heard what King said. She knew that, if she had left immediately, they would have most likely suspected her of spying on their pack's leaders. She would be dead—literally—if she was figured out to be spying on King and Queen when they already knew how Princess and Melissa were seemingly against their pack's leaders.

"Ahh!" Melissa faked a well-done moan that wolves did when they woke up from a nap as she stretched her from legs out and stretched her back up in the air. Melissa stood up and looked around, with her usually—faked—angry expression on her face. She didn't want them to think she was up to something but acting different from she normally did. Melissa was known for constantly having an angry, "I hate the world" expression on her face. If she didn't have that expression, the other rogues would think she's up to something.

But the truth was, Melissa was probably among the least angry wolves out of the entire pack. She just wanted to keep her reputation of being one of the strongest, smartest, and bravest wolves in the pack. Her angry look had led to that reputation and she'd rather be exiled than lose it! No one messed with Melissa—not even Princess and her parents. They knew how foolish it was to anger a wolf with Melissa's temper. She might be one of the least angry wolves in the pack, but she probably had the worst potential temper.

Melissa walked away from the rock near where King and Queen were talking about how Kate and Humphrey would react to Runt being killed before their eyes. She was trying to stay casual about walking away, as if she hadn't heard a thing. She wanted the other rogues to think that she had actually slept there for half an hour, not listened to King and Queen talk for half an hour. It would be the end of her if she were even assumed of spying and eavesdropping, after the nearly violent encounter between her, Princess, and King, Queen, and Scava the night before.

Melissa immediately returned to where Princess and Runt stayed together a good distance away from the other rogues. Runt wasn't nursing from the widowed and pupless female, but he had been when Melissa left half an hour ago. He was with Princess, of course, who was teasing him with her paw. She was twirling it around in the air and Runt would occasionally jump up at it, biting and clawing it with his still developing teeth and claws. They were so small, as with other wolf pups, that Princess barely felt any pain when Runt's milk teeth and claws went into her flesh.

"Runt, this isn't a time for play," Melissa said, knowing that none of the other rogues came near this area. It was within hearing range, but their hearing was probably severely limited due to how much disease was spread among the wolves, with all the caribou and such—and each other—they killed on a daily to weekly basis.

"W-What? Why?" Runt whimpered, as he hung onto Princess's paw with all four legs. Princess let him down and he sat down at her side.

"What's going on?" Princess asked, a worried expression coming over her face.

"Queen said that, if his parents—" Melissa motioned at Runt. "—don't show up by tomorrow morning, that she would tell Scava to kill him. And King agreed with her, changing his plans to kill him tomorrow morning rather than tomorrow night. His parents had better hurry…that only gives us ten hours, if that!"


	9. Snow

**Chapter 8:**

**Snow**

"Just what we needed," Kate groaned with frustration as the group crossed a field when it had started to snow. Humphrey was to her left, Claudette and Stinky to her right, and Marcel and Paddy were flying overhead. "I hate snow," she added with a growl.

"What's wrong with snow?" Claudette asked.

"Your mother normally likes the snow but.."

Kate cut Humphrey off. "If it is snowing, there could be a storm on the way, and if that happens, then the weather could block our pack's path to Banff. Not only that, our pack and us could be trapped her. And then what use would we be for Runt?" Then Kate's voice rose. "I want my son back!" And she immediately began to cry, burying her face in the inch or two of snow that had already fallen.

Marcel and Paddy landed on a fallen tree as Humphrey, Claudette, and Stinky raced over to Kate. The wolves gathered around Kate, as she cried, in a fashion that was best described as hugging among wolves. Humphrey ran his wet nose along Kate's back, hoping it would calm her down.

"Every will be alright," Humphrey whispered in her ear. "Runt is fine…"

"How do you know?" Kate asked sharply.

"I can't explain this feeling I have," Humphrey said, "but I'm sure that Runt is fine."

"For his sake," Kate said, "I hope you right." Then she got up and began trotting through the snow. Humphrey followed, then Claudette and Stinky, and Marcel and Paddy took flight off the log last.

_Please be all right, Runt,_ Humphrey thought as he joined his mate at her side. _I don't know what we'd all do without you…_

* * *

"It's snowing!" Runt yelped with joy as Princess watched him run and roll about in the sheet of white that seemed to have fallen over night.

The only reason Melissa wasn't with them now was that she had called upon by King, along with Scava, to do with two male rogues who were fighting above a female. Apparently, it had gotten bloody and they'd needed more strong wolves to break the fight upon before anyone got killed. But Runt didn't know about this even though his protector did.

Runt squealed with joy as Princess watched him run up onto a rotten log then jump off of it right into the snow. He disappeared with a *poof* then reappeared two or three seconds later. Seeing Runt having so much fun after he had been threatened by Scava, in rather brutal words, warmed Princess's heart.

Princess wished she'd been this easygoing when she was a wolf pup. She had grown up in the Eastern Territory during the famine that had caused the feuding between the once rival Eastern and Western Packs. She was born one birthing season after Kate, Humphrey, Lilly, and Garth, therefore being not much older than Runt was. She was maybe a year older than he was, if that, even. But she remembered how her parents had always told her to be the most mature-acting pup in the Eastern Territory even when there were times that called for fun. While she hadn't known why they'd made her act so serious back then, she knew why now. It had been to teach her discipline before her parents would've overthrown Tony's pack and then Winston's.

But King and Queen's plans become next to impossible with the unity of the Eastern and Western Packs. In that united pack, there were far too many wolves who supported Kate and Humphrey in comparison to the number of wolves who were now rogues in Banff. If they had attempted to overthrow the United Pack, the rogues would've been easily defeated by their rivals. So they had gone rogue for that reason and formed a pack made up entirely of Alpha wolves who hated the idea that Beta and Omega wolves could marry Alphas and all wolves could have pups. They thought that non-Alpha wolves were worthless and produced weak pups so they didn't allow non-Alpha wolves to even exist in Banff unless they were prisoners. But most of them ended up dying due to starvation, disease, or other rogue wolves. If they were Beta or Omega wolves in Banff, they were always imprisoned. If they weren't, they were either killed immediately or driven out of the park.

And that wasn't the end of her pack's cruelty. Princess secretly despised her pack even more for what they did to non-Alpha wolf pups and parents. They killed all non-Alpha wolf pups or any wolf pups with deformities at birth, even if they were Alphas. And the parents…they killed the father so he wouldn't be able to create more "weaklings," as King called them, and exiled the mother so she wouldn't produce more "weaklings." Princess's pack hated weakness at any level, even in the smallest amounts. But Princess and Melissa were different—they thought showing no weakness was the same thing as showing no emotion and not caring.

King had shown no weakness—no emotion in Princess's mind—when he watched his own ailing mother slowly die of a brutal disease that had destroyed her body slowly on the inside by attacking her cells.

_What kind of son could watch his own mother suffer like that and show no emotion?_ Princess wondered as Runt ran all through the snow laughing and yipping happily. If her father were left for dead or dying, would she feel any sadness for him after what he had done to Runt? And after everything else that had happened to Runt that King hadn't done anything to prevent? Such as Scava threatening to tear Runt's throat out and then eat his carcass. Princess had wanted to kill Scava on the spot for that, but she knew there would've been terrible consequences for killing the closest advisor to her parents, the pack leaders, the Alpha male and Alpha female.

_No,_ Princess decided silently. She wouldn't feel sad if her father died, even if it were in the most brutal way anyone could imagine. Not after what all he had done to Runt and after what he hadn't done for the little pup. _I would rather see him die! Then I would take Runt and Melissa with me and we would flee to Jasper. My mother wouldn't be able to do anything about it if we join the United Pack!_

"Come play in the snow with me!" Runt called to Princess, sticking his rear up in the air and wagging his tail quickly as all wolf pups did when they wanted someone to play with them.

Princess smiled at Runt, deciding that she shouldn't be having such dark and serious thoughts right now. Runt wanted her to have some fun and she would for now. She could think about her parents, and what may happen to Runt, when the time came. But one thought would always be on the back of her mind: when would one of the rogues try to kill Runt? Melissa had told her that Queen had specifically said that Runt would "die tomorrow morning if Kate and Humphrey don't show up by then." And Runt's parents hadn't shown up yet. Although she would have fun in the snow with Runt, that one thought wouldn't leave her mind. She would have to stay on the alert for rogues who could be coming to kill Runt.

Runt jumped at Princess as if she were his prey and she faked a scream of fear then fell on her back as Runt pretended to claw and bite her. Snow flew in all directions when the larger she-wolf landed on her back in it. Princess and Runt were both laughing happily.

"I guess you're my first prey!" Runt said cheerful, setting on Princess's belly with one leg outstretched in front of him and his tail wagging excitedly. Runt was so small in comparison to Princess, even for a wolf pup. It took an oddly small wolf pup to set, balanced, on the belly of an older wolf the size and age of Princess.

"I guess I am." Princess smiled at the pup whom she felt a mother-son connection with. Runt felt so much like the son she had lost to Scava in a misfortunate accident. Runt looked just like her late son, only a bit smaller. "Does that make you the Alpha and me the caribou?" She laughed and so did Runt.

"You're a small caribou," Runt laughed, licking Princess on the nose, much to her surprise.

"Ha!" Princess laughed as Runt jumped off of her belly and disappeared into the snow. She would've gone after her it weren't for her noticing something coming closer to where she and Runt was.

Princess raised her hackles, ears, and tail as what looked like a wolf moved closer to them through the first. But Princess relaxed greatly when she realized it was just Melissa and not one of the others coming for Runt.

"Is something wrong?" Melissa asked.

"No," Princess said. "I just thought one of the others was coming for Runt. I'm glad it's you."

"Where's Runt?" Melissa asked.

"Here I am!" Runt shouted as he came out of the snow right underneath Melissa, startling her so much that her hackles rose.

"Gah!" Melissa yelped and jumped over the log that Runt had jumped off of early. "Don't do that!" she added, looking over the log to see that it was Runt who had scared her.

"Haha," a voice laughed. A look of horror came over Princess and Melissa's faces when they realized it wasn't either of them or Runt. It was a deep male voice that sent a chill down their spines. It was Scava. The two adult wolves could smell him as the almost jet-black wolf appeared at the tree line suddenly.

"Get between us, Runt," Princess whispered as Melissa bared her fangs. Princess did the same now, raising her ears and tail in a defensive posture as Melissa had just done. Their hackles, consisting of the hairs along their backbones, from their necks to their tails, were sticking straight up.

"What do you want?" Melissa snarled, showing not only her massive fangs, but also her gums. Just the site of Scava, after what he had said to Runt, incised Princess and Melissa into acting so out of their normal personalities.

"The runt," Scava growled. "King and Queen want him dead." And then he lunged unexpectedly, with his fangs ready to tear flesh. Runt's flesh.

"RUNT!" Princess screamed, then all went black.


	10. The Bear Cub

**Chapter 9**

**The Bear Cub**

"He's alive," Marcel said, panting, as he and Paddy rejoined Kate, Humphrey, and their pups. The two birds had gone on ahead to Banff, which they weren't far away from now, to see if Runt was still alive. But by the time they had returned to the wolves traversing the forest, Scava was attacking Runt right about now and it wasn't ending well for him.

"But he is surrounded by a pack…even larger than your own," Paddy said in a horrified tone.

"How fast can we get there?" Kate asked the birds.

* * *

Princess and Runt were both standing on a cliff together with a few other wolves behind them, including King and Queen. Scava wasn't there because he was dead, killed by Princess for attacking Runt and trying to kill him. But her parents had let that slide as, at the last minute, they'd told Scava they didn't want Runt to get killed. The reason for that is that some of their scouts, MaKayla and Geoff included, had spotted Kate and Humphrey not too far away from Banff. They were almost crossing into their park as these rogues waited for them on this ledge. Runt was the only wolf who didn't know that his parents were so close to possibly rescuing him.

Princess and Runt had been talking for a while, not that King and the other rogues cared. Runt had just thanked Princess for saving his life only minutes earlier.

"How time flies," Runt said to Princess.

Princess looked back at the little pup. "Always does," she said with a smile on her face.

"Are you gonna eat me?" Runt asked nervously, with a frown on his face. He couldn't forget about what Scava had said about eating him, even though that heartless wolf was dead.

Princess was aghast at first, but then realized that Runt was somewhat joking. "East you?" she gasped, then chuckled to keep Runt calm. "I'm sure you would taste very badly."

First, Runt seemed shocked that Princess had said she thought he would taste badly, but then it hit him that it was a good thing she had said that. He smiled up at Princess who smiled down at him then turned her neck around at the horizon, hoping that Runt's parents would show up eventually.

Princess didn't know how much longer her parents would let Runt live even if they had ordered Scava to not kill him. An order that Scava had disobeyed and it cost him his life. Regardless, Princess hoped Kate and Humphrey would show up soon.

* * *

"You smell any bears?" Claudette asked Stinky, who had been sniffing the air for a while.

Stinky sniffed powerfully. "Yeah," he said in an unsure tone. "Kind of…"

"What do you mean, 'kind of'?" Claudette asked, stunned. "Your snout is never wrong," she added with disbelief.

"This one is different," her brother explained. "Only a small whiff of a bear."

And there she appeared over a log on a hill before Claudette could say anymore to her brother. "Hey guys," the bear cub said.

"A very small whiff," Stinky corrected himself, stunned.

"How cute," Claudette said, wide-eyed. "Uh, for a future predator," she added with uncertainty in her voice. She and Stinky approached the bear cub, unaware of why their father did what he did next.

"No. No-no-no, no, no," Humphrey said in a shaking voice. He ran over to them and the female bear cub. "Keeping going, kids. They're all really cute and cuddly when they're that age."

"Your father and I had ourselves a bad experience after _he_ played with a cub," Kate told their pups as she joined her mate in warning them.

"It wasn't pretty. And neither was her breath." Humphrey would never forget his and Kate's first encounter with an angry grizzly bear mother after he had played with a bear cub. Things had gone well until he'd hit the cub in a face with a snowball, causing him to cry. And the cub's cries had drawn out the mother, who had brought three male bears with her.

"Hey, can I come with you?" the bear cub asked Humphrey regardless of what he and Kate had said.

"Talk to the paw," Humphrey said bitterly, having a strong dislike of grizzly bears after that mad encounter. "Go home." But she followed Kate, Claudette, and Stinky regardless until Humphrey confronted the cub. "What is this, a parade?" he asked with a snappy, annoyed tone. Humphrey walked off, not even bothered by the fact that the bear cub was crying as a result of his actions.

Humphrey had no idea where she came from, a female porcupine with a high-pitched voice confronted him suddenly. "So you're just gonna leave that cub alone, in the forest?" she asked the gray wolf, who stopped in his tracks upon hearing her voice.

"Who are you?" Humphrey asked, annoyed.

The porcupine ignored that question entirely. "Do you know what will happen—" She gulped, then paused before continuing. "—to that cute and adorable little cub?"

Humphrey's tone turned bitter immediately. "What are you, his agent?" Then he added with a sarcastic bite, "You get 10 percent of his cuddliness? Come on." It was a kind of sarcastic bite that only Claws, one of his and Kate's Beta wolves, had.

"You know the rules of the forest," the porcupine pressed.

"I know the rules of survival," Humphrey growled. "The—" he stammered. "Why am I having this discussion with you?" Humphrey walked away from the porcupine and ignored her existence until she shot one of her quills right at him. It stuck him in the rear and he screamed in pain. "Ow!" Humphrey turned his head around toward the porcupine and growled at her, showing his teeth.

"Sorry. It was a reflex," she said bitterly. "Karma, my friend."

Humphrey reached back to his rear, pulled the quill out and then spit it off into the first. He whimpered in pain briefly, then addressed the group. "Okay. Time to move on. And fast," he added.

"But—But I'm lost," the bear cub stammered.

Humphrey stammered to himself before addressing the cub. "Look for gigantic bear tracks. You'll be with your grizzly mama in no time."

"I haven't seen her in days. I've looked everywhere," the cub complained in a sad voice.

"Well, look harder," Humphrey said harshly, casting just as harsh of a glare at her.

"I can't. If the mean wolves see me, I'm a goner," the cub told Humphrey.

And Humphrey immediately knew what "mean wolves" she was talking about. The same rogue wolves who had taken Runt from Jasper Park. He couldn't let them get her, too. No one else needed to have their bear cubs or wolf pups taken away from them by King and his pack. Humphrey wouldn't let that happen to this bear cub so he went back to her and picked her up in his jaws as a wolf mother did when she carried her pups for long distances.

Kate was stunned. "Humphrey, what are you doing?" she asked her mate, thinking he had gone insane in a matter of minutes.

"Yeah, Dad," Claudette said, realizing how being with a bear cub was a bad idea after what happened to them days earlier. "Stinky and I had our fill with a bear a few days ago."

"I do believe the cub poses a danger to us all," Stinky said with a bit of a stuck-up yet "noble" tone of voice.

"What if this were Runt?" Humphrey asked them after setting the cub down gently.

Kate and their two pups all realized how that Runt could be the one wandering alone in the forest right now and they wouldn't leave him behind. So how could a lost bear cub be any different from their son was in this kind of situation? Runt wouldn't last without his parents, so how could they expect a bear cub to last without her mother?

Kate blinked, sighed, and then said, "Okay." Claudette, Stinky, and the female bear cub smiled at Kate, who kept a blank expression. Runt was still on her mind. More than ever now, actually, because "Let's get moving."

"Awesome," the bear cub said as the group took off together, heading up a hill. "I've never spent the holidays with wolves before."

* * *

Marcel and Paddy landed in front of Kate and Humphrey.

"Uh, what took you so long to get through the forest?" Marcel asked them.

"Mm, we had to deal with something," Kate said with a sheepish smile on her face.

Paddy was the first of the two birds who noticed the bear cub following Claudette and Stinky. "Did you know that there's a bear cub following your pups?" he asked nervously.

"Yes," Kate said loudly, almost excitedly. "We…" she hesitated briefly, trying to find the correct words. "…adopted him."

"Are you wolves crazy?!" Marcel was stunned.

"Drama wolves," Paddy said good-naturedly. Marcel slowly nodded his head in agreement with a confused look on his face.

"You pups stay here with Paddy," Kate ordered Claudette and Stinky, forcing them over to where the duck was perched on a fallen tree.

"And we mean it," Humphrey said before they walked off.

"Totally unfair," Stinky complained. "We couldn't go the extra mile. An injustice!"

"This is so wrong," Claudette agreed. She and Stinky tried to leave, but Paddy stopped them.

"Wait, wait, wait," Paddy said. "Marcel and I agree with your parents. There are so many rogues down in the valley it would be…" A tone of horror came over his voice suddenly."…extremely dangerous."

* * *

"Okay. Now prepare yourselves," Marcel told Kate and Humphrey when they stopped at the overhanging rock that marked the border between Jasper and Banff.

"For what?" Humphrey asked.

But Kate saw it before her mate did and a look of horror came over her face, replacing her blank expression. "Oh, my gosh," she said. "Even with our entire pack here, they'd outnumber us."

"Kate, look," Humphrey said. He pointed to a ledge with his left paw. There were two wolves there. One adult female and one male pup. The female adult was Princess, not that they knew her name, and the male pup was Runt. But they did know that this she-wolf was protecting Runt, clearly.

* * *

Kate and Humphrey weren't the only wolves just arriving in Banff. Winston and Tony, among other Alphas and Betas, had just arrived as well. Lilly was with them as well.

And Winston swore that he could smell a few familiar someones nearby. And someone whom he wasn't familiar with. "Wait," he said, then sniffed the air strongly.

"What is it?" Tony asked him.

"I smell—" Winston began but stopped when he saw someone appear over the hillside.

It was Paddy. "It's just us."

"Paddy?" Winston was shocked.

"And us," Stinky said as he and Claudette appeared on either side of Paddy.

"I knew it. I knew your smell would give us away," Claudette said to the bear cub just before she appeared at Claudette's side, much to the surprise of the older wolves.

"What are you going with a bear cub?" Winston gasped.

"We kind of adopted him," Claudette said briefly.

"Adopted him?" Tony was just as stunned as Winston was. All of the wolves were stunned, even Lilly.

"Oh, trust me, logic is not our friend here," Paddy said in a humorous voice.

"He was lost," Claudette explained.

"Okay," Winston sighed, realizing how they couldn't just leave a bear cub out in the wild so close to where the rogues lived. They wouldn't spare her. All of the Jasper wolves knew that. "Where are Kate and Humphrey?" he asked Paddy and the pups.

"Under Marcel." Paddy pointed to where Marcel was flying around. Kate and Humphrey were out of the rogues' review, but the Jasper wolves could see them all clearly.

"That's Marcel?" Garth asked with disbelief.

"In all his overstuffed down," Paddy said.

"Okay, Lilly." Garth turned to his mate as Claudette and Stinky ran over to her and sat down in front of her hind legs. "Stay here and watch over them."

"I will," Lilly assured her mate. "Hurry back, my macho Alpha," she added, rubbing her wet nose through Garth's mane before he turned to leave.

"Mm, miss you," Garth said, then left, leaving Lilly fearing and wondering if something bad would happen to her mate in the battle with the rogues she was sure would come. And if she had to, she would do what she had to prevent any deaths of her fellow pack members from happening.

* * *

"Humphrey, you distract them and I'll sneak around the back and grab Runt," Kate was telling her mate, unaware of the wolves who were getting closer.

"Distract them," Humphrey repeated. "How am I gonna distract an entire pack of big, bad Alphas?"

Winston, Tony, Garth, and a female Beta wolf called Claws appeared suddenly. Claws was a Beta wolf who served Kate in the same role Hutch, another Beta, had once had for Winston. Kate and Humphrey were surprised.

"Dad?" Kate gasped.

"Kate, Humphrey," Winston said, "we're here to help. Our other Alphas and Betas are right behind us."

"Some of those wolves used to run with my pack," Tony spoke up.

"Right," Winston realized, "they'll recognize us all, especially you, Claws, and the other Eastern wolves."

"But they don't know me…as an Alpha!" Humphrey said and everyone just stared at him.

What was Humphrey thinking?! King and the other rogues would recognize him!

* * *

**Author's note:** For people who read this in the future and wonder about what happened with Scava between these two chapters, it is mentioned early in this chapter. But I'll say it here regardless. Princess killed Scava for attacking Runt. I'm just trying to keep the story at the K+ rating so I did the same thing Kathryn Lasky did in Guardians of Ga'Hoole with Strix Struma's death - it was only mentioned but never actually seen.


	11. An Unloyal Daughter

**Chapter 10**

**An Unloyal Daughter**

King, Queen, and the three rogues who took Runt from Jasper were near the edge off the cliff all of his pack was gathered on talking. They had been waiting for any sign of Kate, Humphrey, or any other Eastern and Western Pack Wolf.

"They haven't come for Runt?" King asked, unable to believe that Runt's own pack hadn't come to rescue him yet. He wondered if they really did care about that pup.

"No," the rogue who had carried Runt all the way from Jasper to Banff said. "There's no sign of them."

King sat down on his rear. "Hmm," he sighed. "This is not like Winston and Tony."

"Wait," Queen whispered. "Over there."

King was just as stunned as his mate was. "Who is that?" he gasped.

"That is one big wolf!" one of the male rogues on either side of him and Queen gasped.

"It's huge!" King continued in a stunned voice, referring to the seemingly large gray wolf who was walking through the tall grass toward Banff. "It must be a special class of Alpha. We must go greet him. Recruit him."

The wolves, Queen included, began running toward the large gray wolf whom they didn't realize was actually Humphrey on Claws' back. Claws was the one doing the walking, well crawling on her belly, through the tall grass that covered Humphrey's legs just enough that it made the rogues think it was only him and he was doing the walking. They couldn't tell if his legs were moving or not.

"Hey, Claws, they're approaching," Humphrey told the female Beta wolf, who looked up at him. She hated having another wolf standing on her back like this, even if she was one of the strongest wolves in the United Pack.

"Stake your territory," Claws told him. "It'll keep them from coming too close."

"You want me to pee?" Humphrey asked, clearly confused.

Claws was aghast at that response. How could Humphrey be so foolish? "No, you fool," she spat. "I want you to howl!"

Humphrey raised his head and let out a howl that was so weak that it made Claws cringe. And it was so high and piercing that Claws' ears rung and she almost whimpered. The rogues, on the other hand, kept on running despite having the same reaction to his howl that Claws had.

"Did you hear that weak howl?" one of the rogues asked.

"Do it bigger," Claws whispered, "like a real Alpha!"

"That_ is_ my howl," Humphrey told her without taking his eyes off of the rogues. "They're coming closer," he added upon realizing how they weren't stopping.

"They won't stop until you have a big howl!" Claws explained. "It's a power thing," she added quietly, realizing how she had been talking loudly. Their plan wouldn't work if she was heard or seen.

Humphrey tried another howl that started off by better than the first one had, but then his voice cracked, resulting in another loud and earsplitting howl. Humphrey coughed as a result of a howl so bad that it hurt his throat. "Ow. Ow," he groaned, then looked up at the still approaching rogues.

"That's odd," Queen said.

"A giant Alpha that can't howl?" King finisher her sentence.

And then the four rogues started running even faster toward Humphrey, who panicked. "Oh, gosh," he almost yelped. "They're running now. And it doesn't look like the welcome wagon…"

An idea had hit Claws at the same moment the rogues had begun running. "Okay, Humphrey," she said, her ears sticking straight up now. "When I say 'Now,' you yawn."

Humphrey was, of course, confused. "Yawn?" he asked, looking down at the orange she-wolf.

Claws shot him a dirty look, her patience growing thin. "Yes," she groaned with frustration. How hard was it to understand what the word yawn meant? "Yawn big. Now!" she ordered quietly.

And Humphrey yawned big, yet silently, as Claws raised her head up just enough to let out a powerful and strong howl. Humphrey had never heard such a powerful howl before. Not even from Kate or other Alphas. And neither had the four rogue wolves, it seemed, as they stopped dead in their tracks about four feet away from where Humphrey and Claws were.

And Kate had never heard Humphrey howl like that before. She had been crawling up the flat side of a boulder to get a better look at where Runt was when she'd heard that howl. But she had no idea it was actually Claws and not Humphrey. "That was Humphrey?" she gasped with disbelief.

"Oh, I didn't know he had it in him," Marcel called down to Kate as he circled overhead repeatedly.

"We respect your territory," King said, obviously still stunned based on the tone of voice he spoke in. "Come into ours."

"Uh, hm-hmm," he stammered at the rogues, who seemed to be greatly impressed by "his" howl. "Okay, Claws, move forward," he whispered at the wolf whose back he was standing on. "Slowly."

"It's like he's floating," Queen said, unaware of how Claws was underneath him and doing the walking for Humphrey. None of them realized that or even remembered who Humphrey was.

"I come to the edge of thy territory," Humphrey said in an almost noble voice that annoyed Claws greatly but seemed to earn more respect from the rogues.

"What pack are you from?" King asked. "I've never seen an Alpha as big as you."

"Well, that is because where I come from, we eat bears," Humphrey lied, continuing that put-on noble voice he had.

"Bears?" Queen gasped.

"Where did you come from?" King pressed.

I…was…chasing the biggest grizzly in Alaska," Humphrey continued lying. "And the next thing I know, I'm in Canada. Nice people." He laughed, then stammered as he continued."Uh, oh, and um, the bear—Well, I was, uh—I was just about to done on it. Yes."

King was amazed, as were his mate and the other two rogues. Scava would be with them if Princess hadn't killed him for trying to kill Runt early on this day. "You caught it?" he gasped. All four of the rogues howled in unison, then looked back at Humphrey.

Winston and Tony were watching from a distance, with Tony setting on Winston's back so they appeared to be the bear that Humphrey had hunted down and killed. They were all working together to distract the rogues from Kate, who was attempt to reach Runt to get him away. But Princess was still there and she could prove to be a problem for Kate.

"We never speak of this again," Tony said, almost growling. He wasn't being sat on by Winston for one reason. He had a bad back, which was the reason he had almost died in the caribou stampede that almost took Kate's life. Winston was the only reason he had gotten away for he had hit Tony's back with his paw, hard, and put the loose disc back in place.

"Let's not even talk about it now," Winston growled, for Tony was setting on him.

"Why, who is that beauty of an Alpha?" Humphrey asked King when he noticed Princess on the ledge. The sun was shining on her already lustrous fur, which caused it to have more luster than it normally did.

"Ah, my daughter," King said, pleased at this sudden attract. He'd been trying to find his daughter another mate ever since her first one died and her only pup was unintentional killed by Scava. "A supreme Alpha, like all of us," he added.

"May I have a closer look?" Humphrey asked, trying to continue the ruse of being attracted to King's daughter. He hoped he would keep the rogues distracted even longer so Kate would have more time to rescue Runt. But both Humphrey and Claws realized how it would be impossible for Kate to get Runt away as long as Princess was there with him.

"Please," Queen said. "Come inside our territory."

"Oh, uh—Oh, well," Humphrey stammered suddenly. "I see that she already has a pup, so never mind. Never-Never mind."

"Oh, no," King said in an almost disgusted voice. The thought of his daughter giving birth to an Omega almost made him sick. "That's not hers."

"I would prefer, uh, if she—if she met me halfway," Humphrey said so Princess would be away from Runt and Kate would have her chance to get him away.

_Hopefully unnoticed_, Claws thought, then looked up at Humphrey with a concerned expression coming over her face. Would his plan really work? she wondered.

"Princess, quickly," King ordered his daughter, looking back at her. He turned his head back toward Humphrey, as did the others. They were all unaware of how Princess didn't budget from her spot by Runt's side. None of the rogues, other than Melissa maybe, knew what Princess was planning and now intended to do. She'd had enough of her parents' cruelty and wouldn't let Runt be away from her parents any longer. She was sure that gray wolf distracting them was Humphrey and the golden-hued wolf watching her from the boulder was Kate.

"Yes, beautiful Princess," Humphrey said, falsely attempt to woo Princess. "Oh, my. If only we had Alphas as beautiful as you."

Kate had been watching the entire thing, and look over to Princess and Runt when her mate said that. She turned her head in Humphrey's direction and rolled her eyes. She knew he didn't mean that, but he was too good at that, too!

"What is your name, mighty Alpha?" King asked him.

Humphrey didn't know how to reply. "Um, uh…"

"Lockjaw," Claws whispered so quietly that only Humphrey heard her. Humphrey didn't know it, but that was her late father's name.

"…Lockjaw," he finished quickly to avoid suspicion.

"Lockjaw?" the larger of the two male rogues asked.

"That's unusual," King commented.

_What's unusual is how you treat pups!_ Claws thought. She was offended. That was her late father's name they were calling usual. _I ought to jump out of this grass and kill you for insulting my father's name!_

* * *

"Runt, Runt. This way."

Runt heard a calm female voice whisper in his ear. He looked back to see that it was Princess, who had, for some reason he didn't know either, stayed here despite being called by her father.

Runt saw that Princess was moving toward an opening in the rocks around her parents' den. "Come on," she urged. "I'm getting you out of here…"

* * *

"Yes, yes, well, once I ate a mountain lion," Humphrey said nobly and boisterously.

Claws just shook her head with annoyance and disbelief over how good he was at this.

"That too?" King gasped, even more impressed than he had been before. "Excellent. I never thought of eating a lion."

"Talk about gamy," Humphrey said with a laugh in his normal voice. And that caused all four of these rogues to burst out laughing. Queen laughed so hard that she fell on her back in tears.

"That's right. Keep 'em laughing," Princess growled as she and Runt disappeared into the cave seemingly unnoticed.

"We could use a wolf with that strength and appetite," King said. "Come close, Lockjaw. Join us."

"I must…guard my kill," he said. "And look." Humphrey pointed with his paw at Marcel. "The vultures are already here." All four of the rogues swore it was a vulture flying over where Winston and Tony were acting as a lifeless grizzly bear, but Humphrey knew it was Marcel.

And Marcel knew that Humphrey was aware of how it was him and not a vulture. And he was offended by that statement. Marcel and Paddy both hated vultures with a passion.

"If they don't kill him, I will," Marcel said to Kate in an annoyed tone.

Kate looked back to where Princess and Runt had been. "They're gone!" Kate gasped. "She took Runt…"

"Okay, Runt, come this way," Princess said to Runt when they exited out of the cave behind the small mountain where she and her parents lived. No one would see them, surely. Not even the guards on top of that mountain.

"Yes, my Alphas," Humphrey continued, now speaking in that noble voice again. "If you join me in eating this grizzly bear…you too will become a super Alpha."

"I can't wait," the skinner of the two male rogues said. Humphrey now recognized him as the one he and Kate had seen carrying Runt in his jaws. Claws recognized him, too, and was thinking of violent ways she could make him pay for taking Runt from his parents, from his birthplace.

"Okay now. Uh, you, King, you're gonna be first. And then let's—How about you?" Then Humphrey looked at the rogue who had carried Runt all the way to Banff. "The wolf next to you with the—Yeah, yes. You. You with the brown nose." That rogue pointed at his nose with his paw then with a bit of confusion as they all had brown noses. "Come forth for your grizzly meat," Humphrey added loudly.

But before any of the rogue wolves could get closer to Humphrey, a high voice cut through the air. "King, the Omega is gone! And so is Princess!" It was Geoff, who was at MaKayla's side.

"Over there!" Queen shouted. All of the rogues close to Humphrey could see Princess running away from the area with Runt dangling from her jaws by the back of his neck.

"What?!" King roared. "It's a trick!"

All of the rogues gathered on the rock nearby, only a small amount of King's pack, stood up with their ears, tails, and hackles raised. First, Humphrey jumped off Claws' back and ran off with her at his side. Tony jumped off of Winston's back and they ran after Humphrey and Claws. So many other Jasper wolves, including Kate, Eve, Hutch, Candu, and Claws's old friend Scar, followed them as well.

"Alphas, get them!" King roared again. "Get them all! Leave Princess to _me_," he added darkly, with a growl. "She betrayed me and it'll be the _last_ thing she does…"


	12. A Standoff Between Two Alphas

**Chapter 11**

**A Standoff between Two Alphas**

Princess found a safe place for her and Runt to rest for a few minutes about half an hour after she had run away with the little pup. She couldn't let her father get Runt back—King would kill them both on the spot. For that reason, Princess only had one choice, even if it meant keeping Runt away from his parents for a little longer. She would have to run all the way to Jasper with Runt dangling from her jaws.

But Princess saw one problem with that plan that was bigger than any other problem was. If she took Runt to Jasper, he would be safe, yes, but how would she make it known to his parents and the rest of his pack? Kate, Humphrey, and all those other wolves who had come here to rescue him wouldn't know that she'd taken Runt home unless someone was sent back to Banff. But they were over a hundred mile away from Jasper. What if whoever was sent to Banff was too late by then?

"What is going on?" Runt cried as Princess sat him down on a natural bed of moss. "Why did you leave my parents and pack back there to deal with your own, Princess?"

"I wanted to get you out of there," Princess explained, lying down at his side. "Your parents would've done the same thing if they'd gotten the chance to before my father had figured your father out."

"But will I ever see them again?" Runt asked. Tears were running down his face and he spoke in a grieving voice as if he had actually lost his parents. As if Kate and Humphrey were dead. But he didn't really know if they were dead or alive. And he feared he would never know.

"You wouldn't have lasted with all the chaos going on back there," she said. "Your parents can handle themselves—they're Alphas—and so can all of the other Alphas and Betas who are helping them, but I needed to get you out of there before it was too late. You'll see your parents again, I promise. I'll take good care of you until then…"

* * *

"Runt? Runt?" Lilly gasped then got up when she saw the group returning without Runt. Claudette and Stinky had been sleeping almost peacefully against her side until she'd gotten up, waking them up in the process.

"Where's Runt?" Claudette asked as the group who had run away from King's territory returned to the camp. The wolves who had gone there were standing side-by-side. From left-to-right: Kate, Humphrey, Claws, Winston, Scar, Tony, Hutch, and Candu. But Runt wasn't with them.

"We didn't get him," Kate said sadly. "One of the rogues took him away."

"What?" Garth gasped.

"It's not all bad news," Kate said. "I overheard her saying how she was tired of her father and his ways. She's against King."

"Do we even know who she is?" Eve asked in concern for her grandson who was now in this unknown female's care.

"She's King's daughter," Humphrey said. "According to him, her name is Princess. She ran off with Runt when I was distracting her parents and a few others."

"Do you know where she went?" Garth asked.

"No," Stinky said, "but we can follow them."

"You are not coming up with us!" Kate said. "You will stay here with Marcel, Paddy, and the bear cub, and we'll go after them. Claws, Hutch, Candu, Scar, I want you four to come with Humphrey and I."

"Don't think I'd let you go after Runt alone," Lilly volunteered. "Not if King will be going after them."

"If Lilly's going," Garth said, "then I am to."

"And you'll need someone to distract King," Eve said. And everyone knew what that meant. Eve was talking about her axe-crazy threats such as the ones she'd used to frighten the Eastern wolves when the Western pack had thought they'd taken Kate and Humphrey. "He won't know what to think when he sees what I'm really like!" Eve was already baring her fangs and thinking rather violently when she hadn't even seen King yet. But she remembered him. Oh, she remembered him alright. But now wasn't time now to worry about the past involving King. They had to worry about what he was doing now!

"Take the pups to the north side," Winston ordered Marcel and Paddy, as well as Kate and Humphrey. "Then come back here and we'll go after Runt together. Marcel and Paddy will watch over Claudette and Stinky for you."

"The human roads?" Kate asked.

"Yes," Eve said.

"It'll be okay," Winston said. "You've done it before." He was telling Kate and Humphrey that they would be taking the same path home from Banff that they had followed on their way home from Idaho years earlier.

"Come on pups, quickly," Humphrey urged Claudette and Stinky along.

"Well, what about me?" the bear cub asked as Kate ran over to her. She was setting on a log with a sad expression on her face.

"I'll bring you to the middle of the forest," Kate told the cub. "You'll be safer there."

The bear cub attempted to climb down off the log herself but ended up falling face first instead. Kate gently grabbed the bear on the nape of her neck, with her jaws, and lifted her up so she could walk. The pups and the bear cub took off at the same moment Kate and Humphrey did, running in front of them. They all headed off into the forest.

"Lilly, go with them," Garth said out of concern for his expecting mate. Excepting pups, that is.

"I'm staying here! I may not be strong, but I'm smart," Lilly said as she placed her head underneath Garth's head, rubbing the top of her head against Garth's chin.

"Paddy, we have to do something to help them," Marcel told the duck.

"Let me think, let me think," Paddy stammered, then gasped. They had both forgotten how they were supposed to go with Kate and Humphrey, not stay here with the others.

"The best we can do slow them down," Tony said, his fangs bared.

"They have three times as many," Garth said to his father and the group, "so we'll fight four times as hard!"

* * *

Kate, Humphrey, Claudette, and Stinky were walking through the forest when Stinky began acting up.

"Wait, wait!" he called ahead. "Stop!"

"What do you have?" Humphrey asked him turning around.

"I smell a grizzly," Stinky said, then the tone of his voice changed to one of terror. "A _very large_ grizzly!"

"Great. The more the merrier!" Humphrey said sarcastically, as Kate just looked further down the trailer they were walking. And the first thing she saw was an angry mother grizzly running up the trailer toward them.

"Heh...heh," Kate laughed nervously. "You were saying?"

Humphrey just gulped. He was lost for words.

"Mom! Mom! Stop!" the bear cub cried and ran up to the mama bear. "They made sure that I was safe." The mother stopped in her tracks while Kate, Humphrey, and the pups stared at the two bears blankly. They couldn't believe their luck!

"Uh…hi there," Humphrey greeted the mama bear nervously. "I'm Humphrey, this is Kate. And those are our pups. Two of them anyway…" he added sadly, recalling how Runt wasn't with them but with Princess.

"And now they're in trouble," the bear cub told her mother.

* * *

Tony was still talking to the group. "We can only mess them up, Winston," he said. "We won't be able to stop this!"

"They can't handle our numbers!" King shouted upon hearing Tony said that. "They are weak! Purity will win!" He looked back at Melissa, who seemed scared. "Melissa, lead the rest of the pack to Winston's home…and claim it!"

Melissa's mood suddenly changed. She stared at King angrily, showing him her massive fangs. But King, in all his ignorance, had no idea that she was angry with him.

"No, King," Melissa said sadly. "Not this time." She turned her back on her Alpha male and ran down the sandy hill, not even wanting to seem King's reaction. She'd had enough of him.

"Melissa?" King was stunned. "Melissa!" he called after her, but Melissa didn't reply or look back. She just kept on running until she was gone, out of King's sight. She would still be loyal to him—they both knew that—but Melissa didn't want any more to do with this battle raging all because her Alpha male had decided to take a pup from his parents.

* * *

"They are not going to get my grandpups or our home!" Winston bellowed almost triumphantly. The wolves turned around when they heard growling behind them to see nine grizzly bears coming out of the tree line. "What the—" he began, but couldn't find the words to finish his sentence. He was too stunned. The look on his face said it all as the bears surround Lilly, Garth, Winston, Tony, Eve, Claws, Hutch, Candu, and Scar.

"Mom, they're our friends," the bear cub told the nine adult bears, much to the shock of the group of wolves.

Tony started laughing. "I'll be darned!" he exclaimed.

"And she is, too," the cub said, referring to Lilly, who gave the bears a big smile in return. "But everyone else…they're fair game!" the cub added in a more serious tone.

"I'll take good care of her," Lilly told the mama bear as the group walked past the Jasper wolves. She let the bear down off her back onto Lilly's back. They both watched as the others went on to deal with the rogues.

"I think the playing field just got a bit more even," Winston said to the wolves in reference to the nine grizzly bears who had joined them.

"This is going to be fun!" Tony agreed.

"Ready to battle?" Winston asked the group. Everyone, the bears included, howled or growled in agreement.

Before anyone else could react, Garth had already attacked a female wolf who whimpered at him, then snarled, and ran off. And, before Garth could reaction, he found himself cornered by the two wolves who took Runt, minus Scava, and two others called MaKayla and Geoff.

"If it isn't the infamous Garth!" Geoff snarled. "The strongest Alpha in the United Pack…" he added in a mocking tone.

"I hear he is married to an Omega," MaKayla said. "A _weak_ Omega!"

There was no fear on Garth's face as the four rogues approached him, ready to go in for the kill. But what happened next wouldn't give them a chance to get to Garth. It would just give them all bad headaches.

There was a loud rolling sound, almost like thunder, and all of the wolves froze when a good-sized log rolled overhead and landed on top of the rogues. Garth looked back with a stunned expression on his face to see Lilly on the hill behind him, smiling as the rogues let out whimpers of pain. Garth smiled back at Lilly.

As Winston killed one of the rogues who King had sent after them, Garth quickly found the female rogue who had led him into the corner where the four larger rogues cornered him. She didn't get away this time as Garth attacked her quickly and she met the same fate as Scava had at Princess's fangs. That all happened, and so much more, as the bears killed or drove off more and more of the rogues.

The battle was over surprisingly quickly but that didn't mean everything would be peaceful now. Not only had Claws been lightly wounded when a few now dead rogues had gone after her, but King was going after his daughter for taking Runt away when he had trusted her to keep him from being taken back by his parents. Now she was doing what they had come for and they needed to track them down and find them before King did. If King found Princess and Runt first, he would kill them both. They couldn't let that happen, as the wolves gathered on the ledge to watch the bears drive off the last of the rogues who had stuck around to fight. The other half of King's pack had panicked and run away at the site of nine full-grown grizzlies.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Runt cried, as he lay against Princess' belly.

"All we can do is hope that my father won't find us while we're resting here," Princess said. "We won't stay here for long but I know my father is tracking us. I've given him a good reason to. I betrayed him and he kills those who betray him. We can't afford to stick around for too long."

"He'll kill me too?!" Runt almost screamed. Princess put her paw over his muzzle.

"Don't be too loud, dear," she warned. "My father will hear us. It really echoes in this forest…he could hear us if we talk above a whisper."

"Okay," Runt whispered in a shaking voice. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize to my traitorous daughter," a growling voice said. "I've already found you."

_Oh no,_ Princess thought.

"King!" Runt screamed.

"Get behind me," Princess said. She began growling at her father, who was ready to tear her apart. Tear Runt apart, too. But she wouldn't let him get Runt even if it meant she died and he lived.

"Hiding won't do any good for him," King growled. "I'll tear right through you if I must. But in the end, neither of you will make it out of this forest alive."

"You want Runt, you'll have to catch him!" Princess shouted.

"What?" King asked. He looked behind her and gasped. Runt was quickly climbing up the tree that was behind Princess. He reached a tree branch that was at least fifteen feet above the ground. And King didn't know anything about climbing trees, let alone that any wolf could climb trees!

"Try and get him now, King!" Princess barked.

"You will address me as father or you don't address him!" King roared. "You have respect for your father when you're addressing me!"

"Okay, father," Princess spat insultingly. "You can burn in Hell, father."

King let out a vicious snarl and went for his daughter immediately. She got out of the way quickly and her father crashed into the tree Runt had climbed. But nothing would get Runt off of that branch for as long as King was her and able to move. He wasn't going to move.

"Get him while he's down, Princess!" Runt called down to her.

"Shut up, you worthless Omega," King growled as he picked himself up from the impact. He shook his head and went back to trying to get his teeth buried in his daughter. He wouldn't let her leave, then he would figure out some way to get Runt out of that tree and tear him apart.

"Worthless Omega?!" Princess gasped. "How dare you call him that! You are more worthless than the dirt we're standing on!"

"How do you call your father worthless as dirt?" King snarled. He had his head low to the ground, his teeth bared, his gums showing, ears, tail, and hackles rose as he looked at Princess in an aggressive posture.

"Any wolf who takes a young wolf pup from his parents is dirt," Princess spat. "I would rather be a plant growing in the dirt than your daughter."

"You'll be buried under that dirt soon enough," King threatened, then lunged again. But Princess, being much smaller than her father was, dodged his attack quickly, and he found his face buried in the dirt.

Princess laughed mockingly although she was trying to stay serious. "Now who is buried in the dirt?" And she spat on her father's body as he picked himself up. "You can't even get your teeth into your own daughter, whom you trained to fight! What kind of Alpha male are you?"

"The one who can do what's right for his pack," King said, "and do this

Princess didn't see it coming. King kicked her legs out from under her and she fell flat on her belly as her father rose over her. It hadn't hurt. Princess was whimper not due to the pain from falling on her sensitive underbelly but due to how her massive father was standing over her. He was much larger than his daughter was, with twice the muscle and bulk Princess had.

"Go on," Princess growled. "Kill me. It'll just go to prove me right. No good Alpha male would kill his own daughter for doing the right thing!"

"I'd be doing the right thing by killing you!" King shouted at her. "You did the wrong thing by rescuing that little runt. You know our pack laws!"

"I know them and I don't agree with them at all!" Princess yelled. She attempted to get up but King pinned her to the ground with his front paws. He put his fangs dangerously close to Princess' throat, ready to rip it open.

"Any last words?" King asked her, moving his fangs closer to his daughter's exposed throat. He had no regrets about what he about to do to the wolf he'd brought into the world with Queen. Now, he would take Princess out of it and neither of her parents would miss her.

"Look behind you," Princess said calmly.

"What?" King asked. He felt something tackle him off of his daughter. He was knocked senseless when his head collided with a rock. When he regained his senses, King realized that a wolf who greatly resembled his daughter, except for her more laid-back mane and orange fur, was standing over him. And it wasn't just her, but several other wolves.

"Be quick about it, Claws," a brown wolf with a few scars on his face said. "If you hesitate for too long, King will finish you off."

"He won't have the chance," Claws growled. "I'll have torn his throat out before—" Claws felt herself get kicked in the gut and she yelped as King kicked her to the side like she was nothing.

But Claws, regardless of getting hurt by colliding with another rock, had provided enough of a distraction for Princess to get a hold of King by the throat. Her teeth sank deep into his flesh and he started gasping for air as he clawed, trying to get free.

"Y-You can't do this to your father!" King gasped.

"Watch me," Princess mumbled, with a mouthful of her father's throat.

"You won't get the chance!" King growled, then dug his claws deep into Princess's throat. His daughter yelped in pain his claws tore her throat open. Blood sprayed all over King's claws and face. There were pieces of flesh on his bloody claws.

Princess collapsed, but not before she had a chance to pay her father back. It was his act of clawing her throat that had resulted in him suffering the same fate due to her teeth. He hadn't thought about what would happen if he mortally wounded his daughter when her fangs were buried in his throat. It didn't end well for him, either.

King collapsed as well but no one ran to him.

"Princess!" Runt cried.

"No," Kate gasped. She couldn't believe it.

"You'll be alright!" Runt begged. He had climbed down from the tree when he'd seen Princess get hurt. "M-My grandmother…she can take care of you…"

"No, Runt," Princess said weakly. "She can't…"

"W-What?" he stammered.

"I'm dying," she whispered. Her voice was getting weaker every time she spoke. "You can't do anything for a wound like this…"

"She can heal anyone!" Runt said. He was close to Princess, who was breathing heavily and roughly. "She's the best healer in our pack…" He was in tears for Princess. If it weren't for her actions, he would be dead. His life had been at risk and she'd saved it, but now her life was at risk and he wanted to return the favor.

"No," Princess argued weakly. "I-I've—" She coughed, resulting in more than a noise coming out of her mouth. A good amount of blood came with it. "—lost too much blood to be saved…" Her voice was so weak that everyone around her had to gather close to hear Princess speak. "…I love you like…the son I lost, Runt…don't…forget…me…"

Princess let out a low gurgling sound, a loud gasp of breath, as if she were trying to catch her breath, and then the forest went silent. Princess's head collapsed in her blood. Everyone was grieving so badly that no one noticed a still alive but heavily wounded King was crawling on his belly back toward Banff.

Runt had never experienced death in his life before and never thought he would as a puppy. Death was so much worse, so much scarier, than he had expected it to be. And he had lost a wolf to death whom was as close to him, for all she had done, that his mother and father were. Runt was in tears and crying loudly, as were his parents, for the wolf who had ended up giving her life for him. The others were silent.

Kate was the first to speak after five minutes of silence. "We…we must howl for her…" she said sadly. Humphrey was by her side. Claudette and Stinky weren't far away, also crying against Winston and Eve's legs. Lilly was crying, too, with her face buried in the fur of Garth's chest. For what she had done, losing Princess was like losing family.

The wolves began to howl one-by-one, starting with Runt. Soon, they were all howling for a brave Alpha who gave her life for a just as brave pup.

And none of them, especially Runt, would forget Princess for her bravery and her actions. She had found her true purpose in life because of Runt and she had realized how wrong her pack's beliefs were. But going against those beliefs had cost Princess her life.

And even if she had lost her life for better reasons than her father had, that fact didn't make the group of mourning, howling wolves feel any better about her death. They wished she were still alive as their sad howls filled the night air, carrying for as far as any animal could hear.

The entire forest seemed to be in silence for the she-wolf who had given her life for just one wolf pup whom her entire pack, minus one wolf called Melissa, had wanted to kill.

When the howling was over, Runt approached Princess, still crying, and whispered these words in her ear, which he lifted up with his paw. "I love you, too, Princess…" he cried. "…and I'll never forget you for what you did for me…"

But Princess would never hear Runt's meaningful words. She was too far away from them, on her way to a much better place than the world she had grown up in.


	13. Memories

**Chapter 12**

**Memories**

Princess was dead and King had gotten away. How could it have happened? That's what Runt wanted to know. He had never witnessed a death before, but he knew that Princess was gone. How could he have lost her so suddenly when they had just started to get to know each other?

The world seemed so cruel to Runt in this moment. He couldn't believe that a good wolf such as Princess could suffer such a brutal death. No wolf as good as Princess deserved to die so young and so brutally. Her lifeless body was lying on a bed of soft mosses and the Jasper wolves who had come to Banff hadn't left yet. They wouldn't allow a wolf like Princess to be buried in such an evil place. The only reason they were still here was they were resting after the battle with the rogues that had worn the wolves out. And not to mention how Claws was wounded and being taken care of by two Omega wolves and best friends called Candy and Sweets. Along with the vegetarian Omega wolves, also best friends, called Reba and Janice, they were students of Eve who were learning everything she knew about the healing arts. She had a few scratches on her shoulder and thought about how she was lucky compared to Princess.

That poor wolf was dead and here she was, a wolf who had done just as much fighting as Princess had, with only a few scratches on her shoulder and face and maybe a bite to her other shoulder.

Runt sniffed and wiped away tears. He couldn't believe that Princess was dead. They had started getting to know each other like a mother and a son would, then she got killed by her own father. She gave her life for him, yes, and he was thankful to be alive, but he didn't miss that rogue with a good heart any less.

He still remembered when they first encountered each other only days earlier, although it seemed like it had been much longer than only a few days. She had volunteered to take care of him until his pack came for him and she hadn't cared much for him at first. But Runt had grown on her quickly and she had soon felt like a second mother to him while his real mother had been looking for him. And Runt was so close to Princess, even if she was gone now, that he felt like he was her son.

Runt also remembered how, when Scava had attacked him, that she'd driven him off the nearby cliff, resulting in the dark gray wolf having a nasty head and back ache for a day or two. Of course, King, being the cruel wolf he was, had been angry and had told Princess that they would kill Runt if his parents didn't show up by the morning after that had taken place. And, thankfully, Kate and Humphrey had been spotted by King's lookouts. But Scava hadn't cared—he'd attacked Runt regardless and that cost him his life.

Princess hadn't hesitated one moment when Scava had shown up suddenly, when she and Runt had been bonding—playing in the snow together and Princess pretending to be a caribou Runt was hunting—when Scava had come to kill Runt. And King had told all of the rogues ahead of time that they wouldn't have to kill Runt…yet anyway. But Scava hadn't cared that his parents had shown him—he'd just wanted to kill Runt to angry Princess. But he hadn't expected Princess to get the better of him and tear his throat open with her claws. Princess hadn't taken much effort to kill Scava and most of the rogues were glad that Scava was dead.

Not even King and Queen had liked him all that much. The only good thing they'd seen about him was his strength, but he was horrible at following orders. Runt remembered how Queen had said, with no emotion, "Good riddance," about Scava. And Princess, among many others, had felt the same way. Princess had always hated Scava from the moment he had unintentionally killed her only pup. But, in a painfully ironic twist, it was her first pup's death that had made her grow so close to Runt.

Runt had been even closer to Princess than she had been to him and now she was gone. She'd died so sudden that Runt had almost gone into shock over her death. Never before had Runt mourned, well, anything so badly. Usually he had been sad as an even younger pup and it had been over getting in trouble for acting wildly—climbing trees being the most common thing that used to get him in trouble with Kate and Humphrey months earlier.

"I miss you so much," Runt whispered sadly.

Tears were flowing down his cheeks and his eyes were red from rubbing them so much. He had been crying for the past hour after Princess died. He loved her dearly, but he couldn't even bring himself to look in the direction of where her lifeless body lay. It was all too much for the little pup to bear. He was almost closer to Princess than he was to his mother, and he would be dead if it weren't for her actions, so to know that she'd died, even if it was to save his life, was so saddening that not even the word heartbroken would describe how bad Runt's grief for Princess was.

The reality was that, Runt had never actually cried in his life. None of these wolves had until the moment Princess slipped away before their eyes just after saving Runt's life. None of them had expected her to die when she'd gotten a mouthful of King's throat. But when they had seen King press his claws against her throat, they had all frozen with horror and been unable to react until both father and daughter had been left dying. They could only hope King had died, too, because if he hadn't, the rogues would be back seeking vengeance again. A pack without an Alpha male would fall apart and collapse into complete anarchy. The pack members, even the Alpha female, would be at each other's throats, fighting for complete control over the pack.

"I'm so sorry, Runt," Kate said to him. None of the other wolves had wanted to approach the grieving wolf pup. "But she's in a better place than Banff now…"

"S-She would be a b-better place if she were still alive and with us in Jasper!" Runt cried. "W-Why did she have to die…?"

"Sometimes horrible things happen to good wolves," Lilly said quietly, from a distance. She had been crying for a while as well. "I'm sorry, but we can't stop these things from happening when w-we can't see them coming…"

"I miss her so much…" Runt sniffed and wiped away more tears. "I don't know how I'll go on living without her…"

"She wanted you to live," Humphrey said, "and that's all that matters to her. You're alive, so she died happy. Know that, son."

"B-But she's gone!" Runt whined. "I love her l-like a m-mother…but where could she be that is a better place than being alive and with wolves who truly care about her?"

Kate and Humphrey both hesitated, looking at each other sadly. "Heaven," Kate finally said. "All good wolves and animals who die go there. Princess surely went there for everything she did for you. But King…where he went is better left unspoken…"

"You mean Hell," Claws growled.

"Claws!" Kate gasped.

"I'm sorry, but it's true," she apologized. "We know King is the last wolf who would go to Heaven."

"Will I ever see her again?" Runt asked, ignoring Claws' comment about Hell. He was too sad to care about what Heaven and Hell were right now.

No one wanted to answer that question, but they all knew that Runt would feel better—hopefully—if someone did.

And so Eve, his grandmother, stepped forward. She spoke to him in a calm, sad voice. "You will, my dear," she said. "In your dreams about Princess when you're sleeping at night and in your memories of her. Don't ever forget Princess and she'll live in forever in spirit."

Runt swore that, right after his grandmother said that, he felt a cold chill wrapping around him. Then he heard a calm female voice speak to him. He recognized it immediately.

_Princess?_ Runt thought he asked that, but he didn't say it. He was speaking in his thoughts!

_Yes, it's me,_ Princess's voice said in Runt's mind. _I'm happy that you're alive, but I wish I could be with you to celebrate the rogues' defeat._

_Where are you?_ Runt asked her in his thoughts. _I don't see you…I only hear you…_

_I'm with you in spirit,_ he heard her say. _I always will be, Runt. Whenever you need me, just think about me, and I will be there for you._

_But where are you…?_ Runt asked again.

_Heaven_, she told him. _Where all good wolves go when they die. And it's beautiful there, but I wish I could be with you in life, not just spirit. I'm sorry this had to happen._

_I miss you so much already._ Runt started to cry again and he felt the cool breeze that had surrounded his body like a cold fog wiping his tears away.

_I miss you, too, Runt_, Princess told him. And then something remarkable happened. She appeared before him as a transparent for that Runt figured no one else could see.

_P-Princess?_ Runt gasped in his mind. _Y-You're there!_

_This is only my soul, dear,_ she told him. _I'm gone and I can't come back to Earth now, as much as I want to. I'm sorry. But, know this, before I have to leave again…_

_Leave again? What?_ Runt almost started crying again, but the touch of Princess's soul—her paw against his chest—made him feel so much happier.

_I'm sorry, but I can only stay to finish my business,_ Princess's spirit explained. _I have told you that I will always be there when you need me. Other wolves call them "guardian angels"—they never leave your side, whether you're in danger or experiencing the most peaceful time of your life. But I want to tell you this before I leave: I love you, Runt, like the son I lost months ago. And I will never forget you. This is goodbye, for now…_

And then she faded away. Runt didn't hear her speaking to him in her mind anyway.

"Goodbye, Princess," he said, now speaking aloud rather than in his mind.

Everyone looked at him with confusion.

"What?" Kate gasped. "'Goodbye Princess'?"

"What did you see, Runt?" Humphrey asked his son, gathering in close with a few other wolves.

"Princess," Runt said. "Her spirit. She told me that she would always be with me, during times of peace and danger. The last thing she said to me was, 'I love you, Runt, like the son I lost months ago.' And she told me that she is in heaven and would always be with me as a 'guardian angel'.

Everyone fell silent. They were all too shocked to know how to respond to that.

But all that mattered to Runt was that Princess was in a better place and that she would always be with him in spirit. He let out a smile, even though he was still sad that Princess couldn't be with him in life, and closed his eyes to continue remembering the wolf who gave her life for him.

_Don't be sad, Runt_, a female voice said, and then Runt felt that cool breeze that had surrounded him with Princess's appearance left. And he felt so alone, yet so happy that Princess would always be watching over him.

Runt could return to Jasper content, knowing that, despite the massive loss he had suffered on this day.

* * *

**Author's note:** The conversation between Princess's spirit and Runt is a reference to a similar event in Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book #6: The Burning in which Soren's murdered parents visit him as scrooms (spirits/souls) to let him know they're proud of him. In Guardians of Ga'Hoole, the scrooms/souls speak to living owls in their minds, as what happened between Princess and Runt in this story.

And I'll be honest, writing that conversation between Princess's spirit and Runt is the first thing to make me cry since Kate's "death" scene in the original _Alpha and Omega_. If I, of all people, cried while writing this chapter, I can't imagine how the readers will react. It's next to impossible to make me cry. _Alpha and Omega_ is the first movie in at least 3 years, maybe a lot longer, to make me cry.


	14. An Unexpected Return

**Chapter 13**

**An Unexpected Return**

"Are you sure you're up for returning to Jasper, Runt?" Kate asked her youngest pup the next day.

To give Runt some time to recover, as best he could considering the situation, over Princess's death, the Jasper wolves who had fought the rogues had decided to stay outside of Banff another day to give him time. And thankfully, the rogues wanted no part of their rival pack after what had happened to King. They hadn't seen a single rogue's face ever since Princess gave her life for Runt.

"I-I want to rest for a little longer," Runt said.

"Take as long as you need, dear," Kate said. She lay down at Runt's side, wrapped her tail around him, and rested her head in front of him. She still felt bad for her youngest son, as did all of the others, even those who weren't related to him. Kate had never cried before, but she was now, and still was. Her son was so close to Princess—considering her to be like a second mother—and that brave she-wolf gave her life for Kate's son. All of Runt's relatives who were here, and even those who weren't related to him, were saddened by Princess's death.

"I'm so sorry, son," Humphrey said. He wasn't far away. Lilly and Garth were on either side of him. Claudette and Stinky were between their father and aunt.

"Princess was a good wolf," Claws said, trying to console Runt. "She didn't deserve to go through what she did. We all miss her as much as you do you, even if we don't know her as well as you do."

"I don't need to be consoled," Runt said almost harshly. "I miss her, but I don't want to be consoled. I am content after what happened yesterday!"

"You don't mind if I ask what exactly happened yesterday, do you?" Kate asked in a calm voice.

"No, I don't," Runt said. He was acting so much different from how he used to, but that was understandable considering how he lost a wolf whom he loved so much. "It was when I was remembering Princess…I felt a chill around me and then I heard a voice talking to me in my thoughts. We both 'talked' to each other that way for several minutes…"

"Who did the voice belong to?" Lilly asked, wiping away tears.

"Princess," Runt told her.

"W-What?" Kate gasped.

"Yes, Princess," Runt repeated. "Her spirit visited me and spoke to me in our thoughts…she told me that she was in 'Heaven' and would always be watching over me, even in times of peace."

As his youngest son told the group what Princess had said to him, Humphrey was hit by a horrifying thought. If a wolf like Princess died so easily and suddenly, then Kate, an equal to Princess, could've died just as easily as Princess had. And Humphrey didn't know what he would do without Kate. Humphrey without Kate would be like Runt without Princess, something the poor pup was experiencing now. Runt was a pup. He didn't need to be going through everything that he had in the past few days.

Humphrey motioned for Kate to come over to where he was. When she sat down by him, he said, "Kate, I just realized how afraid I was that you could've died in this battle with the rogues…like Princess did…"

"I-I…" Kate stammered. "I don't know how to react to anything anymore…" She paused to wipe away tears. "Princess is dead and…and you…you…"

"I just meant that any of our group could've just as easily died as Princess," Humphrey whimpered. "I'm afraid that I could've lost you like Runt lost Princess…"

"I'm glad we're both okay…" Kate said incompletely. "I wouldn't be able to bear going on without you, Humphrey…"

"I couldn't bear going on without you, either, Kate," he told her in return. Humphrey ran his wet those through her mane then Kate put her head underneath Humphrey's chin. She started crying again not only because of Princess's sacrifice but also how Humphrey had feared that she could've died in that battle like Princess had.

"Don't worry about it," Claws growled at Candy and Sweets as they tried to take care of her wounds. She had a few light scratches on her side and a small bite on her shoulder. She also had a few scratch marks on her cheek.

"Claws, you're bleeding!" Candy protested, once again attempting to rub the aloe leaves on Claws' wounds. Sweets was doing the same thing. But Claws didn't want any part of her wounds being touched by the two Omega friends, even if they knew what they were doing.

"Let me bleed," Claws snarled. She showed Candy and Sweets her fangs. "I'm not some weak wolf who can't handle losing a little blood. I could be worse off—like Princess is!"

"Claws," Sweets said. She motioned to Runt and that was all Claws needed to hear. She knew it was foolish to even mention Princess being dead when Runt was around.

Claws' ears dropped and she felt bad immediately. _How could I have mentioned that now?_ she wondered guiltily. _Use your heart, not your brain, you fool,_ Claws chastised herself. _That little pup lost a good friend and you're mentioning her death in a selfish way!_

"Don't worry, Claws," Runt said, noticing how bad she felt. "You didn't mean that in a cruel way…"

No one had been paying too much attention to Princess's lifeless body, not even Runt because he couldn't bring himself to look at her in such a state. So Runt, of all wolves and pups, hadn't noticed the spirit of a she-wolf hovering over the body, then disappearing into it. And no one noticed the color and life returning to the once dead wolf's body in that moment.

_Ugh,_ Princess thought, just lying there as she had been for over a day. _What happened? Am I…dead?_ She felt herself with her paws, somehow without anyone noticing, just to see if this was really her body. Her real, physical, living body, and not the body she'd had in Heaven. _I'm not dead! I'm alive! But how?_

But then Princess realized that she must've been given a second chance at life for saving Runt's life. Oh, the others would be so shocked to see that she wasn't dead. She was so happy that she had a second chance at life, but she could sense the sadness from all of the other wolves whose backs were toward her, what they remembered to be, lifeless body.

"I'm alive…" Princess whispered in disbelief so silently that no one heard her say it. But she wanted them to see that she was alive and well, despite a suddenly healed hole in her neck. It was just a large scar now. It was all so remarkable that she had been given another chance at life and all the damage to her body caused by her father was basically gone. Well, nothing more than a large scar where her throat had been slashed by her father's claws.

"I'm alive!" Princess shouted suddenly. And all of the mourning wolves turned around with a start. Not only could they not believe that Princess was suddenly alive but it was only a scar, not a gash, on her throat now.

"Princess!" Runt cried with joy. "Princess, you're alive!"


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Yes, I'm alive, Runt," Princess told him as the three pups ran all around her excitedly. She didn't get up because of how weak she felt, which was understandable as she had lost a good amount of blood. The adults, as well, had rushed over to Princess, full of disbelief that she was suddenly alive again.

"Princess," Kate said to her, standing by Humphrey's side, "do you want to come back to Jasper with us? Banff is no place for a good wolf like you. There aren't any others like you here."

"There is," Princess corrected her. "Melissa. She helped protect Runt as much as I did. But I haven't seen her since the battle. I hope she's alright."

"I'm sure she is," Runt said, rubbing his head against Princess's hind leg. "Melissa is a strong wolf, she would get away from your pack as easily as you did."

Claws, still feeling bad about how she had referenced Princess when the rogue had been dead, approached Princess in a posture of submission. Her ears were laid back and her tail was tucked between her hind legs.

"I'm sorry about what I said," Claws said in a low voice. "I should've have said that I could've been worse off 'like Princess' rather than just bleeding from a few scratches. I know you didn't hear me say that…but I still feel bad about saying it…"

Princess, oddly, told her the exact same thing that Runt had only minutes earlier, then she turned to Runt, who was now crying tears of joy rather than sadness.

"W-Were you really in a better place?" Runt asked her, stammering.

"Yes. Yes, I was." Princess nodded. "Do you want to know what heaven looks like?"

"Later," Runt said with a smile. "I'll find out when I'm much older," he added good-naturedly. "And I can wait till I'm old. You've given me a reason to value life and how it can be lost so much easier than anything else can." Princess was stunned to hear such a young wolf pup say something so mature. Even when she had been called Terra and a member of the Eastern Pack months ago, Princess had rarely heard such mature statements from any of her fellow pack members. And she had definitely never heard them from her new pack. The rogue wolves would never be so mature about things. She knew that very well. "I learned so much in the few days I spent with you, Princess, and I'm glad to have you back. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't given a second chance."

"I think that it's all time you returned home," Princess told the Jasper wolves.

"What about you?" Kate asked her.

"I still have some unfinished business," Princess said. Much to the shock of everywhere here, she turned her back toward them and began walking toward Banff.

"No!" Runt cried. "You don't have to go back there! You have nothing left in Banff!"

"I must find out if my father died or not," she said.

"His throat was severely wounded," Humphrey argued. "Why-how could you expect him to have survived when you didn't? I'm sorry I had to say that, but it's true. You have no reason to go there."

"King is dead," Scar said. "You know that."

"Just forget about your father," Claws said. "If he's dead, well good riddance to him. And if he's not, well, let him attack Jasper. He won't last against four packs of wolves! The four packs where we're from are double the number of wolves in your father's pack."

"I won't call him my father anymore," Princess admitted suddenly. "And Queen, I don't consider them a mother anymore. They are nothing to me, after what they did to Runt. I will see if he died or not, and no matter whether he's dead or alive, I will return to you as soon as I can. I promise, Runt," she said to the little pup.

"Please be quick," Runt whined. "I don't want to lose you again. I just got you back…"

Princess rubbed Runt gently behind his ear, ran her nose through his mane, and then told him that she loved him like a son. Runt told her that he loved her like a mother before she turned away again.

Princess quickly ran across the field to where she knew her father would be taken whether he was dead or dying. His and Queen's den. They were no wolves in sight. Princess assumed that most of them had run off because of the grizzly bears whom had joined the fight against the rogues. But they would be back, not that Princess cared. She only wanted to stick around long enough to see if her father was still around or not. If he were alive, it would be future conflict between the rogues and Runt's pack. If he were dead, that chance would be much smaller. Queen would be too depressed to care about revenge any time soon, if her mate was dead.

Princess was able to peek into the rogues' Alpha den with no trouble, as they were no guards. They had been killed in the battle with the Jasper wolves. But there were a few wolves in the Alpha den gathered around the seemingly motionless body of another wolf—they were Queen (who was in tears), Melissa (only to avoid seeming like she was in alliance with the Jasper wolves), MaKayla, and Geoff. They had their heads held low, so none of them noticed Princess. But Princess did notice that the motionless wolf was King and he wasn't dead. They had somehow managed to save his worthless life.

"No," Princess whispered, but realized how she made a foolish mistake. The rogues in the cave heard her and went from mourning to pure insanity in an instant. They knew it was Princess's voice and couldn't understand how King's almost killer was alive after getting her throat clawed open! They went for the mouth of the den before King could issue any orders and pinned her to the ground.

Queen stood over her daughter. "So you returned, in more than one way," she growled at Princess. "Well, we're gonna make you wish you stayed dead for what you did to your father. Tie her up with those vines and get her into the 'slave den'. I'll deal with her later. My mate is more important than a traitor. Now get her out of my sight!"

* * *

**Author's note:** If anyone wants to know what happens next, just look for my story "Alpha and Omega 3: The Great Wolf Games" on my profile. This is a prequel to that.


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